How to Reduce Stress for Better Skin

Lower cortisol through sleep, movement, and breathing to stop stress from triggering breakouts and inflammation.

1. Fix your sleep schedule. Seven to eight hours nightly, same bedtime every day. Your skin repairs itself while you sleep, and cortisol drops to baseline overnight.
2. Move your body daily. Twenty minutes of walking, yoga, or whatever feels good. Exercise flushes stress hormones and increases blood flow to your skin.
3. Practice box breathing. Four counts in, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. Do this for two minutes when you feel tension building.
4. Create boundaries with screens. No phones an hour before bed and limit news consumption. Blue light disrupts sleep and constant information overload spikes cortisol.
5. Establish a wind-down ritual. Same five things every night—face wash, moisturizer, herbal tea, book, lights out. Routine signals your nervous system to relax.