How is stress affecting your skin

Stress affects everyone in many different ways, but what is the effect that it has on our skin?

Stress is the body's physiological response to threats or danger, and part of this response is to redirect blood flow from areas that wouldn't require it in dangerous situations, such as the digestive system, reproductive system and our skin (the body's largest organ). The body reacts in this way to get ready to confront the danger or threat it perceives - but what happens when we're in a constant state of stress?

Our body doesn't perform at its optimal level in times of stress, and this is where we start to suffer from conditions such as poor digestion, breakouts and inflammation throughout the body. ​When looking at skin in particular, stress is one of the most common triggers for skin issues such as acne, eczema, psoriasis and rosacea - and all of these skin complaints are stemmed from inflammation within the body.

Inflammation is a vital part of the immune system's response to injury and infection and is the body's way of signaling the immune system to heal and repair damaged tissue. This is just the beginning of our skin complaints, as chronic inflammation is typically what leads to these developing and becoming chronic conditions over time. Inflammation often begins in the gut, as this is where our immune system resides and initially becomes compromised due to a range of physiological chemical reactions.

One way that we can look after our skin when it comes to stress, is by reducing our stress levels. Identifying what is triggering and causing our stress levels to rise in the first instance is a good place to start. This could be something as simple as relieving the added pressure on ourselves to eat a certain way or exercise a certain amount of times per week or even saying 'no' to others when we usually say yes. Taking a step back and identifying where we can cut back on life's never ending commitments is a key step in reducing inflammation and the stress response on your body.

Diet and supplements that are beneficial to replenishing the body with vital nutrients is also key to helping the body heal. I believe in a diet first approach to all aspects of health especially in states where it's compromised, so getting your fix of dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds, a variety of fruits and vegetables and removing highly processed foods is just the beginning to help your body get the vital nutrients it's after to start the healing process. 

Compromised gut health is stemmed from inflammation, therefore looking at ways to heal the gut in forms of reduced stress and beginning the healing process with gut healing foods will be immensely beneficial to your overall health. Gut healing practices such as chewing your food properly, drinking plenty of water and eating gut-friendly foods is a great place to start. Getting good bacteria from fermented foods like sauerkraut, probiotics and coconut yoghurt is a great way to add extra beneficial bacteria to rebuild gut health is vital. Anther helpful source of gut friendly food are bone broths which are a rich form of collagen, that aid in healing the gut by rebuilding and binding the collagen fibres that help to build and maintain our cells elasticity and structure, especially helpful when the gut lining has become damaged and 'leaky'.

Supplements such as magnesium, plays a widespread role in the human body, helping regulate and facilitate many essential functions. It helps control your body’s stress-response system, and hormones that elevate or diminish stress, and is heavily depleted in time's of stress - so getting your magnesium stores to an adequate level will have you feeling much less frazzled.

Adaptogens are also highly beneficial for times of stress, and have been used in ancient traditional medicines which have been used for centuries and are known to reduce fatigue and enhance mental performance - both side-effects of chronic stress. Popular and well known adaptogenic herbs are Ashwaganda, Ginseng and Rhodiola.

Collagen powders are also a great supplement to take in healing the gut specifically, which is where compromised inflammation and immune health can stem from, good powders are highly bio available and work on specific targeted areas such as the gut and healing the cells which have been damaged.

Stress can affect each individual on a varying spectrum and it's adamant that you know your triggers and what you can do to reduce your stress levels in order to assist your body in reaching optimal health levels and healthy clear skin free from any complaints.

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash