Stress pimples: causes and the best tips

Stress pimples
Causes and tips for impure skin

Inner restlessness and tension can become noticeable on the skin. You can find out here what helps against stress pimples and what triggers there are.

Work is exhausting, your best friend is worried, the child still has to be taken to a playdate – sometimes everyday life just doesn’t allow us to relax. If there is a lack of relaxation, not only the soul suffers, the body also shows stress reactions: long-term stress can manifest itself, for example, in stomach upset, poor sleep and susceptibility to infections. But our skin also quickly shows that something is wrong – In addition to general impurities, skin rashes and redness, stress pimples can also occur.

Stress pimples: Why a lack of relaxation affects the skin

Basically is stress nothing negative at first. Actually, quite the opposite: it enables us to decide within seconds whether we should escape a situation or face it. To do this, the body releases the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which make us more efficient and more concentrated in the short term.

Things get difficult when adrenaline and cortisol levels are persistently high: Long-term stress increases, among other things, the risk of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes. And our skin also suffers. The stress hormones increase sebum production in the sebaceous glands, of which we have many, especially on the face. The skin becomes oilier and is more prone to impurities. On top of that, stress has a negative impact on the protective skin barrier, making it easier for bacteria to spread.

Stress and acne

Do you suffer from acne? Then it is particularly important for you to practice calm during stressful phases. Because a big one study from the Department of Dermatology at Stanford University School of Medicine shows that chronic stress can have a negative impact on existing acne. Accordingly, the skin condition of the study subjects worsened significantly when the stress level was increased. On top of that, the skin’s ability to heal wounds also decreased.

Help against acute stress

In order to combat stress-related pimples, it is primarily important to bring more peace and relaxation back into everyday life. Here are a few tips for this:

You can find out more about how you can reduce stress and what other stress factors there are here.

Other triggers for stress pimples – and what helps

But it’s not just persistent tension itself that causes stress pimples – too other factors, which are usually related to nervousness and stress, can have a negative effect on the complexion. These include:

1. Consumption of luxury foods

The consumption of Nicotine and alcohol has numerous negative effects on the body: both increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and organ damage, among other things. But skin problems such as stress pimples are also possible. Anyone who increasingly uses alcohol or cigarettes – which is often done to unwind in stressful times – often also has to struggle with skin blemishes or stress pimples. If you can’t give up stimulants completely, at least limit consumption as much as possible.

2. Poor diet

Both sweets and fast food and highly processed foods have a supposed advantage when you are short on time: They are available almost immediately provide short-term energy. But as quickly as the blood sugar level rises, it falls just as quickly – and we often end up feeling even weaker than before eating. On top of that, poor nutrition quickly shows up on our skin with pimples, redness and a pale complexion.

To avoid stress-related skin problems, it’s best to use one balanced menu. A varied diet includes lots of fruit and vegetables, fish, fiber, for example in the form of whole grain products, nuts and seeds, as well as a few lean meat and dairy products. As a rule, it is not necessary to completely avoid ice cream, burgers, etc. – as long as they are only eaten in exceptional cases.

3. Lack of sleep

Stress promotes lack of sleep – and vice versa. Maybe we toss and turn in times of stress because the worries of everyday life don’t allow us to calm down. Maybe we are so under pressure due to high cortisol levels, that the body runs in permanent alert mode and falling asleep becomes impossible. Either way: If we don’t get enough sleep, the skin has no opportunity to regenerate itself overnight. And so it’s not just the lack of sleep itself that bothers us, but we also get dark circles under the eyes, a pale complexion and stress-related pimples.

Better sleep can be achieved in many ways. For example, can herbal helpers One possibility: medicinal plants such as lavender, valerian and hops have a calming and sleep-inducing effect. Breathing exercises or relaxing music can also help. If you have too many thoughts swirling around in your head, write them down in a diary and then put it in a locked drawer – this helps many people to let go of the thoughts, at least for that night. You can find even more tips for falling asleep here.

The best skin care for stress pimples

Apart from the general lifestyle, of course the right skin care important to combat skin blemishes and stress pimples or, in the best case, to prevent them from occurring in the first place. These tips will help you:

Reading tips: Do you have the stress pimples under control, but are you still struggling with blemishes? We explain here how pores can be reduced and pores cleaned. We also reveal what helps against pimple marks.

Sources

Bridget