Skincare doesn’t stop at your morning and nighttime routine. Your lifestyle and what you do throughout the day also affects your skin health. While a solid skincare routine helps to keep your skin in tiptop shape, there are a few things you can add to your daily routine that will change your skin from the inside out. Here are 7 lifestyle changes that will transform your skin for the better.
Get active
Getting active and exercising regularly will help cleanse your skin from the inside out. We all the mental, emotional and physical benefits of exercise but it also has major benefits for your skin. Exercise increases blood flow, which helps flush toxins like free radicals from your body. I love these quick at-home workouts, especially in quarantine. If you like to workout outside, make sure to practice sun safety since overexposure to UV rays can damage your skin and make it age faster!
Get enough sleep
Have you ever woken up with puffy eyes, dark circles, or dry skin after a night of rough sleep? It’s because beauty sleep is definitely a real thing! It’s recommended that we get at least 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Poor sleep can negatively affect skin health and make it age more quickly. Over time, lack of sleep can slow collagen production and lead to breakouts, skin allergies, fine lines, uneven skin tone, increased moisture loss and slower healing time. It’s not always easy falling asleep when you want to, so I like to calm my mind before bed by going through a quick nighttime routine and a few minutes of red light therapy.
Sleep on your back
Burying your face into your pillows can cause dark circles, wrinkles and puffiness. Sleeping face down causes blood vessels to constrict and the circulatory system to release congested fluids from the vessels’ walls. That’s actually how we get dark circles; they’re tiny blood vessels pooling under the thin and delicate skin under our eyes. Try sleeping on your back and keeping your head raised above your body with pillows. If sleeping on your back isn’t your thing, I recommend investing in a silk pillowcase! They give your skin a smoother surface than cotton pillowcases, which can tug on your face.
Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is a simple (but effective) way to easily transform your skin. Dehydrated skin can lead to wrinkles, a dull complexion and dry, tight and flakey skin. Drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will help flush toxins out of your body and skin. The benefits of hydrated skin include reduced puffiness, improved skin tone, faster healing, improved elasticity (which means less wrinkles, fine lines and premature aging), reduced oil production and sebum secretion (the things that lead to clogged pores and breakouts). You also don’t have to rely solely on water to keep your skin hydrated. A balance of water and a good moisturized will give you the best results!
Eat more fruits and veggies
Incorporating more fruits and veggies into your diet can help improve your skin tone and give it that healthy glow. This change in skin tone comes from carotenoids, which is the orange-red pigment founds in foods like carrots, oranges, mangoes, apricots, yams and tomatoes. Tomatoes especially are super beneficial. In addition to carotenoids, they have a pigment called lycopene that’s been found to significantly protect skin from UV damage. Adding carotenoid-high foods into your diet will give you a healthier, more natural glow than traditional tanning!
Manage stress
Stress is an unavoidable part of life – and it’s definitely a lot easier said than done. Chronic stress not only has negative effects on your body; it also shows on your skin. It can lead to problems like inflammation, acne, dry skin, hives and rashes and also aggravate existing conditions like psoriasis, rosacea and eczema. Managing stress is never the easiest thing to do – but here are some blog posts to help you find a place to start:
–Anti-Stress Activities Perfect for Quarantine
–How to Give Yourself a Mid-Day Reset
–Habits That Can Lead to Inner Peace
–What Is Breathwork & Why You Should Try It
–What It Means to Show Up for Yourself & How to Do It
Wear SPF
I’m a stickler for SPF – no matter the season – and it’s one of my easiest anti-aging tricks. One of the biggest myths is that you don’t need to wear sunscreen during the colder days and seasons. UV rays can still penetrate through the clouds and damage your skin, so make sure you’re lathering on SPF even in the fall!
What lifestyle tips have you noticed that impact your skin? I’d love to hear them!
