Friday, 28 July 2017 06:44

The Mind-Body Connection

Written by   Janine Ellenberger, M.D., founder and president of GR8/SKN

There is a reason why notable celebrities have participated in the no makeup trend. The overall message from the trend is beneficial: be yourself and do not worry about what others say; beauty shines from the inside out.

Today's stiletto heels turn into tomorrow's foot surgeries. Likewise, too much tanning leads to skin cancer and too much junk food turns into cellulite and acne. The message is not to never wear stilettos or makeup, get a tan, or eat pizza, but to do all things in a moderate and healthy way.

BODY IMAGE
Believe it or not, the first doctors to use this term were two neurologists, Henry Head and Lord Russell Brain. This term is quirky but appropriate, as the parietal lobe of the brain is where people develop a sense of what their body looks like. The balance of a healthy body and how people feel about themselves is a delicate dance between the hormones in the body and the neurotransmitters in their brains. If the body feels bad, the brain feels it and vice versa.

Simply put, if people overload on stress, sugar, caffeine, screen time, and endless voyeurism of others' perceived perfect lives on social media, they generate a cascade of cortisol; insulin; and anxiety-inducing neurotransmitters, like GABA, dopamine, and ephedrine. People generate daily imbalance and the result is that they do not feel that great about themselves. This feeling can translate to the way people look, what they are doing, or generally how they are feeling. It can cloud their every thought and pervasively attack their self-esteem.

The answer is not to add a filter and puppy eyes to selfies, disappear from the online world, have another cup of coffee, or eat more ice cream to get a quick sugar rush. These solutions are temporary and illusory. The answer is balance.

A healthy body and a healthy mind are highly compatible and inseparable. People need to be mindful of what they are eating and putting into their bodies.

Reading labels to understand how much sugar and unwanted chemicals they are loading into their bodies and what effect those chemicals are having is becoming increasingly important. The list of unwanted chemicals is growing as fast as the number of corporations putting them in the food. Clients should become acquainted with the chemicals that should be avoided.

Regular exercise to generate the healthy chemicals that flood the muscles and brain for the rest of the day is vital to good health and a healthy body image.

Exercise generates the production of C10, an energetic little cell that protects the body for hours after exercise. Sufficient sleep is also highly important.

Disrupted sleep patterns are equivalent to an alien taking over master control of a person's brain and body. So many beneficial things happen during sleep: muscles rebuild, memories are laid down, and cells regenerate.

Moderation, balance, healthy eating, exercise, and a good night's sleep are everything. Celebrities will not be the only one going sans makeup and those Snapchat filters will be so last year.

Want to read more?

Subscribe to one of our monthly plans to continue reading this article.

Login to post comments

Skin Care Blogs

Scope This

body { overflow-y: auto; } html, body { min-width: unset; }