General Description: An eternally radiant and always youthful appearance is everyone’s dream. Thus, we have the ever-increasing variety of magic potions, beauty products and surgical innovations to slow down the appearance of biological aging. Knowledge about the possible reasons for premature aging and proper preventive measures to keep aging at bay is essential. They could rescue the millions struggling with low self-esteem and guide them to greater happiness.
A look at some of the causes of premature aging
1. Insufficient sleep: We cannot underestimate the power of this youth-enhancing, beauty-enhancing tool. A minimum of 7 hours of sleep at night is essential to revitalize us. Sustained lack of sleep is not only detrimental to good health, but also to healthy skin. Lack of sleep deprives the skin of the ability to renew itself, sapping its elasticity. It also hampers good blood circulation and a healthy pH balance of the skin.
2. Unhealthy diet: You guessed right! The skin also needs healthy food to maintain its vitality. An “unhealthy diet” could include foods high in sugar, high in carbohydrates, or salty foods. Think of chocolate bars, cakes, processed foods. Excessive saturated carbohydrates can raise your glycemic index and spike your blood glucose and insulin levels. And the invariable result is those huge unwanted pimples. Likewise, excessive intake of sugary foods is a disaster for elastin and collagen, the essential ingredients that maintain skin’s elasticity and youthfulness. Salt can retain water in the tissues and cause them to swell. The unwanted effect is the appearance of swelling.
3. Stress: There is a deep connection between the mind and the skin. Stress has been linked to many skin problems, including acne. When your mind is under constant stress, it produces the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol, in turn, causes oil secretion, which ultimately leads to acne. Dermatologists claim that cortisol could damage our collagen and cause the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
4. Ditch the sunscreen: In our rush hours to school, work, or the grocery store, we often forget to slather on the protective potion against sun damage: sunscreen. Studies have revealed that people who use sunscreen regularly show 24% fewer signs of skin aging than infrequent users. Sunscreen not only protects us from the sun’s UVB rays that cause skin cancer, it also protects us from UVA rays that cause fine lines, pigmentation, and sagging skin.
Effective ways to slow down the appearance of aging
1. Sleep well and eat well as enhancers of youth: To delay the onset of aging, we need to incorporate some lifestyle changes. Good sleep hygiene with a relaxing bedtime ritual can help you wind down and meet your daily quota of 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Banishing erratic sleep patterns and establishing a routine for them turns out to be the mantra for many. Your pre-sleep ritual may include a relaxing shower, followed by a short but engaging read and de-stressing techniques, such as prayer or a short meditation. Meditation/prayers connect your mind and body, reduce stress and improve quality of sleep, so essential to maintaining that youthful glow. You don’t have to turn down delicious potato chips, baked goods made from refined flour, processed foods and others. As with everything else, moderation is also the key in this department. You can replace pastries, bread, white flour pasta with wholemeal flour. And it automatically reduces skin damage. Include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet. They will provide you with natural antioxidants and vitamins, increase collagen production and improve the health of your skin.
2. Occasionally say no to caffeine, alcohol, and smoking: Caffeine, a diuretic, can cause premature wrinkles and accelerate skin aging. It hinders the production of elastin and collagen. Therefore, it is best to exercise moderation and limit our coffee intake. Similarly, smoking obstructs the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the skin, such as vitamin A. The result is the proliferation of free radicals that wreak havoc on our skin, ultimately damaging our skin’s firmness and vigor. Alcohol is believed to be a vasodilator and a diuretic. Therefore, excessive alcohol consumption can cause bags in our skin and dehydrate it. It can also inhibit healthy blood circulation and block complete detoxification. What you get in return is premature aging. Again, moderation is the key to slowing down the onset of aging.
3. A regular skincare regimen: Let this be your daily motto: cleanse, tone, moisturize. Ritual implementation of this regimen every day can do wonders for your skin. It will increase blood circulation, moisturize the skin and give you supple skin, radiating a youthful glow. Treat your skin to a fruit facial by saving a bite of the fruit you’re eating. It could be papaya, strawberries, or even bananas. Apply them generously on your face and get a good dose of essential enzymes, B-carotene or Vitamin C, exfoliating, detoxifying and moisturizing your skin. The antioxidants in these fruits will delay the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, sagging and maintain the much desired youth.
4. The power of meditation and yoga: We are constantly under pressure in our professional, personal or academic lives. It doesn’t take long for this pressure to build up and create overwhelming stress. It has been observed that the harmful hormone cortisol, which triggers tremendous stress, is also bad for our skin as it ages it faster. So what do we do to address it? We can address it with regular meditation and yoga. These powerful exercises improve our mind-body connection and help us better cope with stress. So let’s get ready and save some time to secure our future against premature aging.
5. From sunscreen, sunglasses and sun hats: You’re right! These invaluable shields give us double protection. They protect us from cancer and cataracts, in addition to improving the health of our skin. If you are religious about these “protective shields”, you can be sure that there will be less sun spots, pigmentation or fine lines. These protective measures will allow you to feel good about your firm and supple skin for an extended period of time.
So, ladies… delaying the appearance of aging is nothing more than religiously following these age-old steps toward youth and good health. 8 glasses of water a day, regular exercise, good eating habits, good sleep hygiene…it’s all been part of the words of wisdom we’ve heard from our parents, read in magazines, watched TV, for a million times. Yes, maintaining these habits seems difficult, and yes, they do sound like an overused set of phrases. However, all we need is motivation, considering the big picture… the key words are long-term, youthful, radiant, firm and supple skin. Trust me, once you get started on the youthful skin routine, you’ll automatically be inspired to cultivate these lifelong habits and refrain from what can harm your skin. The good cause and the latent but long-term bonus, a youthful glow forever, will help you stay committed to your vows of moderation and slow the aging process.
