How Stress Impacts our Skin

The effects of stress on our skin



Have you ever wondered how stress can impact your skin?

Have you ever noticed during times of high stress, or after a highly stressful period, one of the first things that starts to show up is often a breakout, redness, or perhaps previous skin issues you may have been experiencing?


Perhaps if you have struggled with skin issues, coming out of a period of high stress can bring back or cause your skin issues to flare up again. Stress Impacts our skin in multiple ways, from having break outs after a highly stressful period, to long term inflammatory skin conditions such as poor wound healing, flaking skin, eczema and dermatitis.


This is because when we undergo a highly stressful period, whether this is physical or emotional, our body goes into a perceived ‘fight or flight response’, which readily uses up our essential nutrients, and uses them up to support this response.

Our body focuses on utilising the nutrient’s its receiving, particularly zinc, vitamin C and B vitamins to help support and send out to our organs it considers essential for survival, often leaving our skin one of the last places to receive the beneficial nutrients.




As the skin is the most external organ of our body and a reflection of our internal health, it is one of the final places to show up when something is out of balance internally. 
During times of high levels of stress, the body perceives these external organs as ‘non-essential’, therefore can be the last organs to receive the essential nutrients to support these organs.




Here are 5 ways stress can impact our skin.


 Stress affects our hormones


Stress affects our hormones, particularly our production of cortisol, which is known as our stress hormone. 
When our body is under high stress, whether short term or long term chronic stress, our brain sends signals to our adrenals to produce the hormone ‘cortisol’.


Whilst cortisol is a normal, and even a healthy, response to enable our body to respond to the stressful situation it is faced with, ongoing levels of this can begin to cause issues for our body and affect the functioning of our organs, including our skin!
Ongoing raised levels of cortisol can deplete us of our essential nutrients including Vitamin C, Zinc and our B vitamins, as these are required to help support our adrenals, and replenishing our stress response. These are also key nutrients for the skin health and essential for healing and replenishing cellular repair and increasing cell turnover. 



Stress Increases Inflammation



High levels of stress increases inflammation internally, which leads to inflammation on our skin. This inflammation can show up in many ways like redness, poor wound healing, increased scarring or slower ability to heal, or and/or re-occouring breakouts and acne.


Impacts our gut Health and ability to absorb nutrients


High levels of stress affects our gut health, and can even alter our gut microbiome.
As we know gut health is crucial for skin health, and skin healing. As our gut microbiome is connected to our skin, high levels of stress can affect the bodies ability to properly digest and absorb these essential nutrients.

If our microbiome is not being supported, either due to high stress, or an imbalance of poor bacteria, this can affect how well the food is being absorbed and broken down, and contributes to inflammation on the skin.


Stress Impacts our sleep
Stress impacts our hormonal production, including increasing the production of cortisol, our fight or fight response, which can affect our sleep.
This alters the melatonin production which is needed to help to promote relaxation and support adequate sleep quality. Adequate sleep is essential for skin repair and healing, as when we sleep our cells repairs and regenerate.

Affects our Skin Microbiome

Stress can even alter the pH barrier of the skin, causing flaking, redness and sensitivity to the skin. The high levels of stress disrupt the HPA axis (hypothalamic- adrenal axis), the part of the brain responsible for hormone production, to produce elevated cortisol and adrenaline from the kidneys. These are known as Catecholamines, which can directly affect and disrupt the skins microbiome, often leading to reduced skin barrier integrity and increasing poor wound healing, increased flaking and sensitivity to the skin.




This is why after a period of high stress you may find your flare ups and skin issues begin to surface again

.

So, how can we ensure to reduce the inflammation during a stressful period?



Aim to implement a healthy stress reduction techniques.

Whether it’s deep breathing, journaling, meditation, a walk in nature, aim to implement at least 15-20 minutes a day to do something you enjoy, ensure to make time to schedule this in daily!



Support your sleep!

I encourage your to please priorities your sleep and 
avoid skipping sleep or cutting into your sleep during a busy time. Sleep is so important to help your body regenerate and repair itself, especially the skin!



Nourish your Adrenals

Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium are essential for optimal adrenal support and cellular repair and replenishment.
During times of high stress, your body may need extra support to function and thrive optimally. As your adrenals will be using these nutrients up at a faster rate, it is essential your body is receiving enough to supply and nourish your adrenals and skin health!

For more information and key ways to help support your skin from the inside out, be sure to download your Clear Skin Checklist, for you to start implementing today. 

If you are ready to get to finally get to the root cause of your chronic skin condition, and finally break free from the struggle of supporting your skin, please get in contact below, I am here to support you in your next steps!


Also if you have a friend who would benefit from reading this, then please share this with them.




Dominique



Skin Nutrition Co.


contact@skinnutritionco.com.au

www.skinnutritionco.com.au