In today’s fast-paced and career-focused world, many of us will find ourselves living in the city for work-related reasons at some point in our lives. There are some great things about living in the city, and of course many people choose to live in the city regardless of work, but could this type of urban environment actually be damaging to our wellness?
A new study has come to light which has revealed that spending time in the city could actually be bad for the wellbeing of your skin. The impact that the city environment could have on your skin is often hugely underestimated and this impact generally falls into two categories: pollution and stress.
Pollution is always worse in cities due to industry and high concentration of people in one place, but it also prompts the release of unstable chemicals known as free radicals which are produced in the body to attempt to fight the pollution.
Free radicals have been linked to serious health conditions such as heart disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and cancer, but they can also steal oxygen way from your skin cells and make them age prematurely. The best way to fight against this is to take a regular vitamin supplement which contains vitamins A, C and E.
Eczema is often higher in cities too, due to the smog, deficiencies in vitamin D and pollution factors.
Whilst also wonderful, city living can be stressful because it is busy and noisy. It is also full of unnatural light, and this can deplete your skin of nutrients.
Stress can also make people more likely to make poor food choices (and of course junk food is readily available in a city) and this lack of nutrients and addition of fat and chemicals to the diet can also lead to poor skin, as can smoking and drinking alcohol – two things that people often turn to to relieve stress.
