As you know . . . as we age, the health and beauty good "stuff" in our bodies goes down.

Unfortunately, the bad stuff goes up.

Thanks to several scientific studies, we now know one of those is the hormone cortisol.

In older adults, excess cortisol has been linked not only with the "usual suspects" - chronic disease and weight gain - but also with damaged skin, nails and hair.

Besides, as we well know, you don't have to be an older adult to suffer skin damage due to excess cortisol, because it's not only caused by aging, but by stress.

What is Cortisol

It's a vital hormone that does serve useful purposes. 

For the first few hours after you get out of bed in the morning, cortisol is normally high. And that's good, because it stimulates your mind and body, waking you up so you can get to work and keep your job.

And you have probably heard how, when we are faced with a stressful fight or flight situation - such as a lion charging straight at us - cortisol primes our bodies to RUN!

Your heart speeds up. You stop digesting food and fighting off infections. You stop thinking.

You just run.

Unless you're a Maasai warrior. Then you prepare to fight. You raise your spear and look for an opening.

Either way, cortisol is amplifying the stress you feel to an overwhelming level.

But, when the crisis is over, you're supposed to catch your breath, then relax, returning to stress-free "normal."

In modern life, of course, normal never is stress-free. You can't run from a traffic jam. You can't stab your boss with a spear (well, you could, but it would cause more problems than it'd solve). 

This feeling of chronic stress helps keep cortisol constantly at high levels.

Stress Triggers the Release of Cortisol

Most of it's made by your adrenal glands, located at the top of each of your kidneys. But other organs, including your skin, also secrete cortisol.

That includes the outer layer of your skin, the epidermis; the inner layer, the dermis; cells that produce melatonin and hair follicles. All of those secrete cortisol.

Also, your skin and hair follicles contain enzymes that control the activity of cortisol, including 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11-beta-HSD1). 11-Beta-HSD1 converts inactive cortisol to active cortisol. 

Excess Cortisol Causes Many Skin Problems

These include psoriasis, eczema, hives and rosacea. 

Excess cortisol also leads to chronic skin dehydration, which leads to wrinkles and lines.

Scientists have found higher levels of cortisol in aging skin. And its not genetic. In one study, identical twins were split up, going to live in separate households. One twin had an ordinary childhood, the other suffered a lot of stress. When they grew up, the one who experienced the more stressful life clearly looked older - more wrinkled - than their twin.

Increased cortisol decreases your skin's capacity to make new cells.

Excess cortisol leads to thinning skin because it reduces your synthesis of collagen. Collagen is the steel rebar that give your skin structural support. When your skin synthesizes less collagen your skin's thinner. It's weaker. It sags and develops wrinkles.

This is a negative feedback loop that feeds on itself because aging and obesity increase 11-beta-HSD1. That leads to higher levels of cortisol in your skin. That leads to skin that looks more wrinkled and damaged - older.

And that stresses you out even further.

Elevated levels of cortisol in your skin reduce its barrier function. That causes dry, flaky skin - and could lead to more infections and allergic responses.

We All Need Effective Stress Management

Unfortunately, there's no "easy" way to lower cortisol in your skin. Skincare products contain a lot of useful ingredients, but none of them claim to lower cortisol.

After all, your body makes cortisol naturally, in reaction to stress. 

So, to reduce cortisol, you must reduce stress.

* Most importantly, give your body time to recover from each day's stress the way it's meant to: by sleeping 7-9 hours every night. 

 Make it a habit even on the weekends.

* Get regular moderate exercise. 

The keyword is "moderate," NOT extremely long and intense. It can be intense, but only for short periods. That's called High-Intensity Interval Training. You can also mix in light running for 30-60 minutes several times a week. Or just take walks.

The key is to stress your body just enough to force it to adapt to the additional stress. That also helps you cope with the emotional stress of worries in your life.

Yoga and Pilates also count as great ways to relax your body through physical activity.

* The Yoga pose Savasana, which ends all Yoga sessions, is sheer relaxation through physical inactivity.

You lie flat on the floor and close your eyes. Relax by tensing your muscles in small groups - starting with your toes and working up to the top of your head. Tense, hold for around 3 seconds. Let go. Move up.

Lay there motionless for ten to twenty minutes, breathing deeply and slowly from your abdomen.

The book The Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson has a lot more information on the incredible health benefits of doing this every day. He recommends repeating a pleasant word to yourself over and over again. It can be religious ("Hail Mary . . . ") or nonreligious ("Peace").

* Eat a healthy diet of unprocessed, whole foods. In particular, avoid processed sugars, which dramatically raise cortisol levels.

* Meditate at least once a day for 20 minutes.

This quiets your mind and body.

* Laugh and have fun every day.

I know that's tough for you chronic workers and worriers, but - really - give yourself a break.

https://today.uic.edu/low-dose-thc-can-relieve-stress-more-does-just-the-opposite

https://hellogiggles.com/beauty/how-cortisol-affects-your-skin/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/using-the-relaxation-response-to-reduce-stress-20101110780

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1ZXAE0IczU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnRGa7RqSWw

https://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2021/9/high-cortisol-ages-skin-hair