If there’s one thing that all college students understand, it’s stress. Stress is hard to avoid in college when deadlines, projects, and responsibilities start to add up. While most of us know that stress isn’t great for your health, did you stop to consider what long-term stress can do to your appearance?
Here are just a few ways that stress can creep to the surface:
1.Skin Blemishes:
This is arguably the most common physical effect of stress because it happens so quickly. When we are stressed, our bodies release cortisol– which can cause acne due to imbalanced hormones.
If you are prone to acne, be sure to wash your face, remove all makeup before heading to bed, and don’t forget to moisturize! (Especially in these winter months!)
Beyond acne, high levels of prolonged stress can lead to more serious skin conditions like psoriasis. If you feel like your skin breakouts go beyond acne, it’s best to see a doctor for more advanced treatment.
2. Under-Eye Circles and Bags:
There’s the old myth that college students never sleep. While this is not true, it is a reality that most college students do not get the recommended amount of sleep of eight hours a night. While lack of sleep has many side effects like moodiness, decreased performance, and lethargy, lack of sleep can also produce dark circles or can cause swelling, puffy, circles under your eyes.
The simplest solution is to try and get more sleep, but as a treatment, stock up on the vitamin C and get a good concealer for your dark circles. For puffy eyes, try putting a spoon in the fridge overnight and in the morning, touch the spoon to the outer corner of the eyes and massage inwards. This can help reduce the swelling.
3. Dry Skin:
If you are stressed, it is likely that you are drinking mainly coffee, soda, or something other than water. This dehydration can lead to terribly dry skin that can cause itching, flaking, breakage, red patches, and discoloration.
It is important to remember that you should aim to drink water every day, eight glasses if you can, to stay healthy and to keep your skin healthy and glowing.
4. Other:
Other physical effects of stress can result in the thinning or graying hair, fine lines in the skin to become more visible, skin to appear pale or flushed, and discoloration of the fingernails. These symptoms are not to be ignored. Your body is trying to tell you that you need to be a priority as well.
It’s true that there is no easy solution to stress, especially as a college student. Feeling stressed becomes a part of adult life. The important thing is to find balance and to set ourselves up for success. The more organized and planned our schedules are, the less surges of stress come into play.
Finally, never forget to take care and to be gentle with yourself.
Stay Healthy, Ladies!
Image Sources:
https://blog.idealimage.com/health-and-wellness/the-effects-of-stress-on-your-appearance/
https://www.sudocrem.co.uk/skin-care-cream/blog/stress-skin-bad/
https://everydayfeminism.com/2013/12/on-being-an-activist-in-college/