Break a Sweat: It’s Good for You! Regular physical activity helps nourish skin and contributes to healthy aging. Although you can’t avoid aging, exercise can improve your appearance and slow down the aging process. Ways to Protect Your Skin Before/during a workout Avoid wearing makeup Always use sun protection After a workout Wash your face and shower as soon as possible Change into clean clothing Immediate Effects on Appearance Exercise helps reduce blemishes and other impurities. Working out causes increased blood flow to the entire body, which gives the skin a flushed appearance. This look comes from the delivery of oxygen and other nutrients to skin cells, which plays a key role in healthier-looking skin. Physical activity also helps manage stress and regulate sleep. Working out regularly can protect against or improve certain skin conditions. Additionally, getting enough sleep can reduce dark eye circles and aid in skin repair. Contributions to Healthy Aging Exercise weakens several key factors of aging by reducing inflammatory responses in the body. It can have beneficial effects on the aging process of various organs, tissues and DNA. In addition, regular physical activity increases anti-aging properties that improve skin structure and reduce the risk of mental decline, chronic disease and death. Being active also slows down the body’s aging process by protecting against cellular damage. Physical activity improves antioxidant defenses and restricts harmful free radicals in the body. It plays a role in regulating healthy cell growth and injured cell removal too. In fact, older adults who are physically active can have similar cellular activity as younger, sedentary individuals. Aging is inevitable, but exercise may be one of the best ways to delay or reverse several mechanisms of aging. So next time your skin is flushed after a workout, remember that you are positively contributing to your looks and health in the future! References American Academy of Dermatology Association – “How Your Workout Can Affect Your Skin” National Institutes of Health – “Effects of exercise on cellular and tissue aging” National Institutes of Health – “Advanced Glycation End Products and Risks for Chronic Diseases: Intervening Through Lifestyle Modification” National Institutes of Health – “Exercise Counters the Age-Related Accumulation of Senescent Cells”
