3 Lifestyle Changes You Can Make To Improve Your Skin Health

If you're concerned about the health or appearance of your skin, it's beneficial to schedule a visit with your local dermatologist. While you might be tempted to use makeup and other skin products to alter your appearance, it's best to have a medical professional assess your skin's health and help you deal with the cause of the issue. If you're the type of person who wants to take a proactive role in your health and it's still a couple weeks before your visit to the dermatology clinic, there are steps you can take to improve your skin health. Here are three ideas that anyone can put into place.

Avoid Cold, Dry Air

Air that is cold and dry can dehydrate your skin and exacerbate many skin conditions. As such, it's ideal to make some changes to help minimize your exposure to this sort of air. If you live in a climate with harsh winters, avoiding being outdoors when it's extremely cold or windy is beneficial. When you do have the leave the house, covering as much of your skin as possible with gloves, a scarf and other accessories can provide a layer of protection. If your home tends to be chilly and dry in the winter, buying and using a humidifier will pump moisture into the air to help your skin health.

Improve Your Stress Management

Many people find that their skin conditions worsen due to stress -- stress causes a release of the hormone cortisol, which can increase the oiliness of your skin and make conditions such as acne worse. If you consider yourself to have high level of stress or anxiety in your life, it's time to make some changes for the good of your skin -- and your body overall. Managing your stress begins with identifying its root causes. For workplace-related stress, you can benefit from meeting with an HR rep to discuss how your job situation or workload is affecting you, for example.

Increase Your Sleep

There's a reason for the term "beauty sleep." When you get enough sleep each night, your skin gets better blood flow and can rejuvenate due to the increased production of collagen overnight. Try to get between seven and nine hours of sleep every night; if you're routinely short on sleep, you might be doing harm to your skin health. If you have trouble falling asleep earlier, try to eat earlier and avoid the use of electronic devices right before bed.

For more information and tips, contact a dermatologist like Petrin Dermatology Center.

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