Stress, sleep and skin problems

by Jen (May 16, 2008)

I have chronic skin problems: sensitive skin that flares into hives sometimes and a permanent condition that gets better and worse. No dermatologist has ever managed to explain why the problems wax and wane.

Lately my skin has been awful. I’ve also been getting far less sleep (in terms of both quality and quantity) than I need, and I’ve had a ton of stress. There’s not much I can cut out of my life without actually creating more stress - this is just an unfortunate part of living in an obsessive society that sets its standard for productivity by cocaine-addled Wall Street workaholics from the 80’s instead of happy, healthy people who are productive but still… well, human.

Last night, I decided to go to bed really early - that had to take precedence over everything else. I remembered at the last moment I hadn’t written my second post for today, but decided I just couldn’t let that affect me. I relaxed thoroughly, and then I went to sleep without checking emails, without surfing, without doing anything that might stimulate my brain.

I got the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a couple of years. And - to my surprise - my skin was the best it’s been in years. Overnight, it got soft and smooth and all the splotches of red toned down.

This morning, I knew what to write about for my second post. It turns out stress has such an effect on skin there’s a new discipline in dermatology called Psychodermatogy:

“The mind and skin are connected on many different levels,” Mallin tells WebMD. “A lot of nerve endings are connected to the skin, which wraps around the organs, so as emotions are played out neurologically, they can be expressed through the skin just as stress can be expressed through gastrointestinal symptoms, increased anxiety, or hypertension.”

I’ve noticed that stress seems to exacerbate a lot of symptoms for me. But it’s so hard to get de-stressed that it’s difficult to test the theory out. The article goes on to talk about “relaxation training” as an approach to skin care.

Sleep is another key component in maintaining healthy skin. We all know that not getting enough can give you puffy eyes and dark circles and make you age faster. Your body produces far more skin cells while you’re sleeping than while you’re awake, which means you need sleep to restore your skin.

All of which means: it may not be worth your time to go to dermatologists or seek out cosmetics or pharmaceuticals to help with your skin until you’ve taken the first step of reducing your stress and improving your sleep. Those two things are more easily said than done, I know. We’ve got a few tips around here, and we’ll keep adding more.

To decrease stress and improve sleep, you might want to start meditating. If you’ve can’t sleep, try heat for your insomnia or get out of bed and wear yourself out. Avoid watching TV or the computer before sleeping. You can actually improve your sleep by making your bedroom more cozy. If you’re a perfectionist, stop pushing yourself too hard. Above all, you have to try different sleep schedules and routines and listen to your body. Make sure you’re not anemic, as anemia can exacerbate stress and sleep problems. And always watch your caffeine intake.

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