Reports have shown that a significant percentage of Americans aren’t getting enough exercise - over 15% of people are physically inactive for all states. Aside from sculpting your body, getting radiant, clear skin is another, lesser-known reason to motivate yourself to hit the gym if you find yourself procrastinating. Exercise isn’t only beneficial for maintaining a stable weight and lowering the risk of serious illnesses like diabetes; doctors believe that working out regularly can also improve the general health of your skin and its appearance. If you’re dealing with a washed out, lackluster complexion or constant acne breakouts, a sedentary lifestyle could be the problem. The medical dermatology focused, Naples-based team at Skin Wellness Physicians says that being active will enhance your complexion in the following ways.

1. Helps You to Keep Stress Levels Under Control

Polls have shown that the majority of people are frequently experiencing stress during their daily lives. Chronic stress is terrible for the skin as it results in higher levels of cortisol in the body and increased oil production. If you’re often stressed out, it can trigger or worsen symptoms of chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea. You might also neglect your everyday skin routine when you’re tired or under pressure, leading to other skin problems. One of the most effective ways of managing stress is through any type of exercise as being physically active ramps up the production of endorphins, mitigates the negative effects of stress on the body, allows us to clear our minds and distract ourselves from our worries, puts us in a more positive and confident mood, and improves our sleep quality.

2. Gets Nourishment to Your Skin

Ever heard of the “Post-Workout Glow”? The term refers to the bright, glowing look you get when more of your blood is pumping through the body. When your skin constantly looks drab, unhealthy, dry, and gray it could be because you need to improve blood circulation. Additionally, you might also have brittle nails and thinning hair. Each time you have a cardio workout, your heart rate increases so that more nutrients and oxygen-rich blood are delivered to the skin cells. This results in increased collagen generation and faster skin cell turnover, which in turn delays signs of aging as well. Both high-intensity aerobic exercise such as running and swimming as well as low-impact exercises like yoga can be helpful.

3. Reduces Signs of Aging

If you want to keep your skin looking youthful for as long as possible, doing moderate to vigorous exercise routinely can be the key. In fact, even if you start working out later in life, exercise is even believed to reverse some of the skin changes linked to aging by causing anti-inflammatory proteins to be released.

4. Cleanses Your Skin

While exercise won’t actually “detoxify” your body (that’s the job of your kidneys and liver), it’s true that sweating can help you eliminate impurities, bacteria, and small amounts of heavy metals. Sweat also has an anti-microbial effect on the skin to protect it against infections. Just remember to wash your skin before working out, remove makeup, and give it a gentle cleanse as soon as you can after exercising to get rid of those toxins so that they don’t get reabsorbed by your skin.

5. Makes Your Skin Look Firmer

Our skin can get saggy and stretched out for many reasons, such as significant weight loss, weight fluctuations, pregnancy, normal aging, gravity, smoking, and sun damage. Even though exercise itself won’t be able to make stretched skin tightened again, the muscles sit below the subcutaneous fat so building them through strength training will make the loose skin look better. The increased muscle mass acts like a replacement for some of the fat that you’ve shed.

Talk to practitioners who specialize in medical dermatology at Naples’ Skin Wellness Physicians for more tips on improving your skin quality through exercise and a healthy lifestyle. If you would like to arrange a meeting with a board-certified dermatologist, call their office at (239) 732-0044 or send them a message through their website to contact them