Not only is exercising excellent for your heart, lungs and overall health, it can also drastically improve the condition of your skin. We’re getting more used to sedentary lifestyles in this digital era, but here’s a few reasons why you should get up and active.
1. Exercise improves blood flow to the skin
By exercising, you’re promoting blood circulation by increasing your heart rate. This improved blood flow to the skin means oxygen and essential nutrients can be carried to where they’re needed. Improved circulation also means waste products can be more effectively removed from the skin, including free-radicals which can damage skin cells.
2.Exercise boosts skin radiance
Your skin can look more radiant from exercise as a result of improved blood flow. Exercise also promotes sweating; sweating is excellent for the skin as it helps to expel trapped oils and dirt. Sweating also gives you that post-workout glow, just make sure you wash your face soon after as to not clog your pores.
3. Exercise decreases stress which can lead to skin improvements
Overall stress levels are on the up due to our increasingly busy lifestyles. Stress has a direct impact on the condition of your skin, it can reduce sleep quality and paired with hormone imbalances it can negatively affect your complexion. Exercise helps to reduce overall stress levels and also comes with a sense of achievement, this can drastically improve the condition of your skin and overall physical and mental health.
4. Exercise improves sleep quality
A significant portion of cellular regeneration happens at night, there’s a reason it’s called beauty sleep. Skipping out on sleep worsens the overall condition of your skin and it leads to those pesky dark circles. Exercise can improve the quality of your sleep by regulating levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), as well as making you physically tired which means you will crave some shut-eye.
Things to look out for
While exercise can completely change your complexion, it’s important you practise good habits to mitigate harm. When exercising outside, ensure you apply SPF 30+ with UVA and UVB protection to prevent harmful UV rays from damaging your skin cells. If you do not apply sun protection, you’re effectively undoing any benefits exercise has on the skin.
Make sure you wash your face after exercising, as pollutants and dirt can clog the pores and lead to breakouts.
Chafing can also be a problem with cardiovascular exercise which can cause rashes and overall discomfort. Make sure you wear clothes that can take moisture away from the skin, such as Nike Dri-fit, or wear loose clothes than don’t constrict blood flow or rub against the skin.