7 Ways Your Home Is Making You Age Faster
Is your home aging you? (Photo: twenty20.com/@nikki.albertyn/Livestrong.com)
While most of us know that aging is typically caused by genetic and environmental factors like stress and free radicals, did you know that your home could be aging you as well? All that effort applying antiaging creams is being undone the moment you cross the threshold of home sweet home – that is, until now. From your windows to your paint choices, here are the 7 ways your home may be aging you and what you can do to fight the signs of time once and for all.
1. Bed Pillows
Sleep wrinkles, caused by scrunching your face into a pillow or sleeping on your side, can easily be inhibited with two simple fixes: silk pillowcases that slide across your skin and sleeping on your back. The reason these unfortunate lines even occur, board-certified dermatologist and RealSelf.com advisor Dr. Joel Schlessinger explains, is that mature skin doesn’t bounce back like younger skin. “These wrinkles are the result of your face being repeatedly compressed against a pillow each night, stretching, pushing and pulling the skin.
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The best way to avoid sleep wrinkles is to sleep on your back,” he says. If you are really serious about avoiding wrinkles while you sleep, Dr. Schlessinger recommends a pillow by JuveRest. “It has a head cradle to encourage sleeping on your back. If you absolutely must sleep on your side, JuveRest’s unique design helps minimize the contact between your face and the pillow,” he says.
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2. Windows
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, at least 50 percent of UVA rays pass through glass windows. The result? Unless you are wearing sunscreen, any sun exposure you receive indoors is causing unfiltered damage to your skin. These rays – known for causing wrinkles and age spots – will also increase your risk for skin cancer. Dr. Schlessinger recommends wearing sunscreen indoors as well as outdoors because of the bad nature of those UV rays. “Every single day, even if you don’t plan on leaving the house, you’re constantly exposed to UV rays,” he says. “Applying sunscreen every day can help you avoid fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and other signs of sun damage. Daily sun protection is the easiest way to keep your skin looking healthy and beautiful.”
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3. Humidity and Temperature
Dry skin means quickly aging skin. According to Dr. Schlessinger, “Low humidity depletes your skin of moisture. As a result, skin is left feeling dry, tight and uncomfortable. Similarly, colder temperatures often mean there is less moisture in the air, leaving skin dehydrated.” And to add insult to injury, indoor heat is even more drying. The solution? Use a humidifier to help combat dry air, especially while you get your beauty sleep. Look for one with a digital display, and set the humidity level between 40 and 50 percent. Anything above 60 percent, warns Dr. Schlessinger, allows for condensation on surfaces, which may allow bacteria to grow.
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4. Pantry
“A poor diet, specifically one that is high in sugar, can affect your skin from the inside out,” warns Dr. Schlessinger. “Sugar molecules attach to collagen and elastin proteins in the skin through a process called glycation. This process produces advanced glycosylation end products, or AGEs for short. AGEs are free radicals that lead to inflammation, breaking down collagen and elastin in the skin.”
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Additionally, you may want to rethink that second glass of wine. Alcohol is known to dehydrate the body on multiple levels and can cause skin to appear blotchy and bloated. Drinking excessively is even worse. “Drinking alcohol also deprives the body of essential nutrients like vitamins, electrolytes and fluids. As you lose these key nutrients, your skin looks less healthy and vibrant. It’s also harder for your body to naturally rejuvenate dull skin because alcohol depletes your body’s natural sources of vitamin A, an antioxidant that helps promote cell turnover and keeps skin looking youthful,” he explains.
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5. Air Quality
Smoke, pollution, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and UV radiation are the biggest contributors to making up free radicals – unstable molecules that attack and harm the body. For those that are exposed, they’ll see signs of premature aging in the form of wrinkles and fine lines. To combat these free-floating enemies, quit smoking and increase your antioxidant levels by drinking green tea and eating colorful fruits and vegetables – all of which are known to fight oxidative damage, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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6. Hot Showers
Another culprit of premature aging? Long, hot showers and dragging a towel across your body rather than patting yourself dry. “Rubbing a towel across your face or body is rough on your skin, no matter what material or fabric it is,” Dr. Schlessinger warns. “Instead of rubbing, always pat your skin dry, minimizing the risk of irritation. Next, moisturize as soon as you step out of the shower while your skin is still damp. It helps lock in moisture. If you skip this step, the top layers of your skin can quickly become dry and dehydrated.”
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7. Clutter
Whether it’s mental or environmental clutter, according to Psychology Today, there’s no doubt that messiness causes stress, and it’s widely accepted that stress causes aging. To make your home the calm, clutter-free haven you always pictured, put forth the effort to de-clutter and donate clothes and items you don’t use. For items that have a tendency to pile up like mail, toys and books, make it routine to put them away every day. And, at the very least, keep your entryway as neat as possible so you won’t be bombarded by visual stress the moment you first open your door.
For the 5 other ways your home is making you age faster, click here.
By Andie Huber
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