Exercise can have a positive impact on your health and wellness in many ways. Traditionally, you may have only looked at exercise as a way to maintain a strong heart and lose weight, but regularly pushing your physical limits can also have a beneficial effect on the skin’s health and appearance.
One of those ways is to support and influence the quality of your skin. The skin is your body’s largest organ and is affected by numerous lifestyle choices and decisions … workouts and exercise are no exception.
Improves blood circulation to the skin
Exercise pushes your heart rate up and improves blood circulation in an individual. This happens as a result of your blood vessels expanding, during a process called vasodilation, in order to pump more blood around your body. In turn, this aids in oxygen and nutrient delivery to the skin cells.
Improves toxin removal from the skin
Improved blood flow also means toxins are removed from your body far more efficiently. Exercise increases the effectiveness of your bloodstream, meaning waste and toxins are leaving cells more quickly. Altogether, your cells are getting the nutrients they need faster and shedding the toxins they don’t want quicker as well.
Anti-aging effect on the skin
You will also see a promotion in collagen production and the appearance of healthy new skin cells. Your skin will look like it’s glowing and this can be helpful for long-term anti-aging goals.
The long-term anti-aging effects come as a result of the increased collagen production. Collagen is what gives skin the strong yet bouncy foundation it sits on. A report by the Anatomical Society titled ‘Aging Cell’, put inactive adults into a three-month program of cycling. Afterwards, they observed higher levels of collagen in their skin, suggesting that regular exercise can indeed stimulate skin rehabilitation.
The same report featured a separate cross-sectional study comparing the skin function between active people and couch potatoes. They found that the skin of older athletic participants was much healthier than that of older passive participants. Regular exercise kept the second layer of the skin, the dermis, ticker. A thinning dermis is often associated with sagging and wrinkles. These findings indicate that exercise can alleviate some aspects of skin ageing in humans.
‘Post-exercise Glow’
‘Post-exercise Glow’ is a real thing and can persist for hours after your session. It is a combination of increased blood flow promoting circulation to the skin and the endorphins released during exercise. Endorphins are feel-good hormones that are accepted by the endorphin receptors found in skin cells. Whilst the effect endorphins have on skin cells is not fully understood yet, it seems to be beneficial, especially when you take into consideration the off-setting of stress levels.
Another positive aspect of the ‘post-exercise glow’ is an increased lymph flow, which decreases the puffiness of your eyes. Not only will you be left with more radiant looking skin, you will notice it tightening where it once was puffy.
Exercise cleans out your pores
Furthermore, sweating during a workout session can help clear out your pores. However, one must ensure that, prior to exercise, you have cleaned the skin’s surface of anything that could potentially clog up the pores such as dirt, makeup or other skincare items.
Routine exercise reduces the skin’s stress levels
Routine exercise sessions are proven to be stress-relieving and have shown to have a positive effect on an individual’s mental health. Heightened levels of stress can affect the skin’s appearance by leading to breakouts and irritation.
Subsequently, these problems can develop into larger issues such as eczema and rosacea flare-ups and, in some unfortunate circumstances, even hives. By regularly exercising, you reduce stress levels and improve your skin’s quality. According to Harvard Health, exercise reduces the levels of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
Regular exercise tones muscles … duh
Of course, regular exercise also helps tone muscles. And, whilst this does not have a direct effect on your skin, firmer muscles definitely help you look better overall.
In Conclusion
Regular exercise most definitely has an impact. It increases blood circulation and keeps cells nourished as well as flushed of toxins. It has an anti-aging effect on the dermis, cleans out your pores and can leave you glowing and satisfied with your progress.
Working with a personal trainer can help you to see these skin-based benefits amongst so much more, so visit Adam White Personal Training Studios to plunge ahead: www.awpts.com
Author: Lucy Walker
Lucy has been a journalist and writer in the health and beauty sector since 2014. Her ambition knows no bounds, and she always looks for new opportunities to learn and grow.
