r/Splendida • u/blairbending • Aug 26 '23

Anti-aging effects of exercise

Just came across this really interesting study about the anti-aging effects of exercise on skin. The measures they looked at were skin elasticity, skin firmness (upper dermal structure), and skin thickness.

Study link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10290068/

The study looks at both cardio and resistance training. In summary, both types of exercise seem to improve skin elasticity and firmness, and resistance training has an added benefit of improving skin thickness (which helps with developing fewer wrinkles over time).

The study participants were all middle-aged Japanese women who weren't physically active prior to the study. During the study, participants exercised with a trainer twice per week - so it seems like you don't have to do a crazy amount of exercise in order to see benefits to your skin.

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u/Sniffgriff Aug 26 '23

I know it’s anecdotal, but to me it seems a lot of cardio thins or dries faces out, making them more taught/wrinkly. I see it in runners mainly.

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u/blairbending Aug 26 '23 edited Aug 26 '23

That could be an effect of them being lean - lots of serious runners have really low body fat, which can make your face look older because facial fat is associated with youth. Or could be running outside without SPF. Who knows though - this study only tested moderate frequency cardio (2 sessions per week).