Have you ever wondered how some people have flawless skin? It’s as if the sun came down from the sky, smiled upon their face, and kissed them with radiant skin. If you feel like you’re not one of the chosen ones, I’m here to tell you, “You’re wrong.”
Gorgeous skin can be achieved by eating healthy, creating a consistent natural skincare routine, and exercise. Working up a good old-fashioned sweat does wonders for your skin. Here are the beauty benefits of exercise and how it will help you have enviable skin.
- Rapid breathing from exercise helps oxygenate your skin enhancing skin health.
- Exercise stimulates blood flow causing your arteries to deliver more blood and oxygen to skin’s surface nourishing skin cells, repairing sun and environmental damage.
- Nutrients boost skin’s collagen production preventing wrinkles and helps skin self-repair.
- Exercise reduces cortisol production. Cortisol causes collagen breakdown.
- Exercise cleanses your skin from the inside. Your pores purge the trapped dirt and oil making you less prone to acne. Cleanse your skin post workout so the gunk doesn’t reclog your pores.
- The condition of your skin improves making your skin look younger. After a 2010 study with mice, scientists tested male and female volunteers between the ages 20 to 84. They performed moderate to vigorous exercise three hours per week. After the scientists biopsied their skin and subdivided their samples by exercise habits, they found that after age 40, the men and women who exercised frequently had skin that was similar to that of the 20- and 30-year-olds than to that of others of their age, even if they were past age 65.1
- When you exercise, blood flows to your face giving you an immediate natural glow.
- Exercise relieves anxiety, stress, and depression. You release your feel-good hormones like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which reverse the aging process. When you’re happy, you look better and have a healthy glow.
- Exercise helps you sleep better. When you’re well rested, you look refreshed.
Do you have to go to the gym and pump-up like Arnold? No. Do you have to sign up for the NY or LA Marathon? No. You don’t need to go to those extremes (unless you want to).
Moderate to vigorous exercise like brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, resistance training, or yoga will fit the bill. Exercise a minimum of three times per week for 45 minutes per session.
What are you waiting for? Go out there and slay that exercise so people will look at you and wonder if the sun came off its lofty perch in the sky, smiled lovingly upon your face, and kissed you with flawless skin.