9 Things You Will Do Every Day That Causes Premature Aging

Aging is simply the process of getting older. It is the natural progression of this thing called life and a phenomenon each of us is experiencing every moment of every day. But certain lifestyle choices can lead to premature aging, a situation where you will feel and look older than you should due to the stresses and strains you’re inflicting on your body and skin. A few small tweaks to your daily habits could make all the difference in the long term and keep you feeling, and looking, youthful and radiant for longer. Read on for 10 things you do that will cause premature aging.

1) Excessive Sunbathing

You can be forgiven for wanting to indulge in a bit of skin worship, particularly following long, hard winters in the northern hemisphere but sunbathing is the number one cause of prematurely aging skin. You might be surprised to hear that the sun’s harmful UV rays can reach you even on cloudy, rainy or snowy days, damaging your skin without the kindness of providing you with any warmth. In fact, UV rays can even penetrate through glass so even if you stay indoors your skin may be at risk from sun damage. The only way to combat the negative effects of sun on the skin is to wear sunscreen every day. It is recommended that you choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 that blocks UVA and UVB rays. Using a sunscreen formula that contains added antioxidants and wearing a sun hat are also recommended but if you really want to protect your skin, the best advice is just to stay in the shade.

2) Dehydration

Most people grossly underestimate how much water their body needs to stay adequately hydrated. Most health authorities suggest that you should drink at least 2 liters of water per day but this figure changes depending on how hot and humid your part of the world is, how much you exercise and how much coffee and other dehydrating liquids you drink. Every organ in our body needs water to function properly and the largest organ in your body, the skin, is no different. Water regulates body temperature, flushes toxins from our systems and carries nutrients to our cells. Skin that is dry, dehydrated and starved of nutrients will age very quickly so drinking more water is a quick and simple life-hack that could help to stop premature skin aging in its tracks. Using a good moisturizer, avoiding sunbathing, eating more good fats and following every other bit of advice offered on this list will help too!

3) Low Fat Diet (Yes you need fat in your diet)

While following a low fat diet is great for keeping slim and trim, dieters need to be aware that by cutting fat out of your diet completely you may be depriving your body of much needed healthy fats and actually speeding up the aging process. Yes, I said healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids such as those found in oily fish, walnuts and certain seeds are essential for supporting your body as it ages. These good fats are proven to keep your skin supple and wrinkle-free. Be aware that slathering on oily moisturizer won’t have the same effect, you need to ingest these particular fats for the full effect. As well as giving your skin the radiant glow of a much-younger person, fatty acids can also boost brain health and keep your heart in good condition. If that’s not enough reason to order a grilled salmon fillet for lunch, I don’t know what is.

4) Not Sleeping Enough

Everyone’s granny has long extolled the benefits of an early night and it seems she might just have a point. When our body sleeps, our skin goes into a state of renewal and repair and is actually able to regenerate itself. Dermatologists have proven that while we sleep our skin’s pH balance and circulation changes, making any nighttime anti-aging products you may have applied before bed penetrate and work better. Experts suggest that adults who sleep between 7 and 9 hours per night are generally healthier than those who sleep less. How long you sleep is very important but how you sleep also makes a difference to how quickly you will age. The fetal position is comfortable for many, as is sleeping on your stomach, but the pressure of your face against the pillow can actually damage your skin, further breaking down its elasticity and causing wrinkles.

5) Drinking

Like smoking, we all know drinking isn’t very good for our health. The government guidelines on what is the recommended limit of alcohol consumption per week seems to change all of the time but common sense alone shows us that excessive drinking can damage our body, mind and skin. Heavy drinkers risk causing damage to their kidneys, liver and heart. Aside from the damaging effect alcohol has on our insides, excessive drinking causes havoc with our skin. Drinkers’ skin is often discolored, can have poor muscle tone and is prone to small red lines caused by broken blood vessels and spider veins. Even a small amount of alcohol can dehydrate your body and deprive your skin of vital vitamins and nutrients. But all is not lost, giving up alcohol even for one month, can drastically reduce skin redness, improve dryness and repair red thread veins and broken blood vessels.

6) Too Much Sugar

We all know that eating too much sugar is bad for our health and can lead to weight gain and, if severe, heart disease and diabetes. However, eating too much sugar is also bad for your skin, as bad in fact as smoking or sunbathing in the long term. Eating a lot of sugar, particularly refined white sugar causes a rise in the blood sugar levels in your body. This in turn causes your body to go through a process of glycation which is known to damage the collagen in your skin. Collagen is integral to maintaining your skins plumpness and elasticity and once it is damaged the skin can become wrinkled and saggy. There is little you can do to reverse the effects of damaged collagen in your skin so the best defense is to eat as little sugar as possible in the first place.

7) Soap

Cleanliness is next to godliness but before you reach for the soap, consider that your trusty bar of soap may just be causing your skin to age prematurely. Soap is far from your skin’s best friend and many popular brands of soap can be downright damaging to your skin. Everyone’s skin has an acid mantle, that is a level of acidity in the surface of the skin that is unique to you, and this acid mantle acts as a natural protective barrier against pollutants and harmful elements of the environment. When you wash with soap you often remove the protective layer, leaving your skin vulnerable to the effects of the environment. Removing essential oils from the skin dries it out, dry skin means prematurely wrinkled skin and nobody wants that. We don’t advise that you stop washing your face altogether but we would suggest swapping your soap for a PH-neutral cleanser and gentle exfoliator and, of course, don’t forget to moisturize.

8) Stressing out

A high stress lifestyle can and will lead to premature aging. Chronic high levels of stress in our daily lives can cause a number of health complications, including an increased chance of illness and more frequent mood disorders. Stress can also cause premature aging and is known to have a particularly disastrous effect on the skin of the face. Cortisol is a major stress hormone and this hormone is known to break down collagen in the skin, causing inflammation that encourages the skin on the face to wrinkle and sag. Making improvements to your diet, getting more sleep, exercising and taking time out of your busy schedule to relax in meditation, massage or yoga are all recommended in the fight against stress. Reduced stress levels should lead to reduced cortisol in your body meaning a reduction in damage to your skin.

9) Smoking

This had to turn up on the list eventually. We all know that smoking causes premature aging while smoking in excess leads to a huge number of health problems including an increased risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke. Smoking doesn’t just cause huge problems for the health of your body, it also ravages the skin and a heavy smoker often wears the signs of their habit all over their face. Even young smokers often have fine lines around their mouths and eyes that are worsened over the years and are twice as likely as a non-smoker to have problems with their teeth. Smoking deprives the skin on the face of oxygen leading to dryness and more wrinkles. As well as the obvious signs premature aging, smoking can lead to delayed wound healing and can trigger a number of skin disorders such as psoriasis and dermatitis.