IT PREVENTS WRINKLES
There are a number of ways that stress
can accelerate skin ageing. Firstly,
frowning and furrowing your brows or
pursing your lips, can, over time, lead
to deeper wrinkles. And then there is
the excess cortisol we pump out during
times of chronic stress. Cortisol degrades
collagen, that lovely structural protein
that makes our skin appear youthful.
A 2004 study shed light on the link
between chronic stress and skin ageing,
suggesting that telomeres – the protective
caps at the end of chromosomes which
serve as markers for cellular ageing –
shorten prematurely in people who have
experienced chronic stress. Ultimately,
this makes our skin age prematurely.
However, all is not lost. In 2009,
researchers reported that meditation
could actually help lengthen
telomeres. And a more recent 2016
study found zen meditation experts
to have longer telomeres than those
who didn’t meditate, as well as a
lower percentage of short telomeres.
The study, conducted by Spanish
scientists at the University of Zaragoza,
compared a control group of 20
subjects who had never meditated
with 20 subjects who had been
practising daily zen meditation for
at least 10 years. (The control group
and meditators were matched for age,
sex and lifestyle factors such as diet,
smoking, drinking and exercise.)
The researchers discovered that the
meditators’ telomeres were, on average,
10 per cent longer than those of the
control group. Many psychological
traits were associated with having
longer telomeres, including greater
mindfulness skills, life satisfaction
and subjective happiness. This proves
that mindfulness meditation is a
brilliant source of relaxation and stress
reduction, and it’s also your go-to if
you want to keep your skin plump.“When it comes to
food, nature gets it
right, while human
intervention can
get it very wrong.”TRY THIS:
Following a mindfulness meditation,
smooth on some collagen boosting anti-
ageing cream to further
support your skin.
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LOVESYOUR HAIR, SKIN
AND NAILS ARE
DEPENDING ON IT
“Beauty bits get compromised
when stress hormones are being
churned out, as non-vital processes
such as how white your teeth are,
your skin sparkle, nail strength and
hair, brow and eyelash lush factor
are not deemed important to your
survival when you are on red alert,”
says Dr Libby Weaver, nutritional
biochemist and author of Beauty
From The Inside Out, ($24.95,
Little Green Frog Publisher).
“When it comes to substances
inside your body, that can take
away your shine, stress hormones,
when produced consistently and
over extended periods, can have a
pronounced and visible impact,”
she continues.
We already know the detrimental
effects stress can have on our skin,
but it can also steal the life and
shine from your locks. Your scalp
needs oxygen, vitamins and minerals
to grow great hair, but stress
causes blood vessels to constrict,
drastically limiting its supply.
Daily mindfulness meditation will
inadvertently give you great hair
because as stress levels plummet,
blood f lows more freely throughout
your entire body.70 | AUSTRALIAN NATURAL HEALTH naturalhealthmag.com.au