Background: The skin is an important organ of the human body and has moisturizing and barrier functions. Factors such as sunlight and lifestyle significantly affect these skin functions, with sunlight being extremely damaging. The effects of lifestyle habits such as smoking, diet, and sleep have been studied extensively. It has been found that smoking increases the risk of wrinkles, while excessive fat and sugar intake leads to skin aging. Lack of sleep and stress are also dangerous for the skin's barrier function. In recent years, the impact of exercise habits on skin function has been a focus of study. Regular exercise is associated with increased blood flow to the skin, elevated skin temperature, and improved skin moisture. Furthermore, it has been shown to improve skin structure and rejuvenate its appearance, possibly through promoting mitochondrial biosynthesis and affecting hormone secretion. Further research is needed to understand the effects of different amounts and content of exercise on the skin.
Objective: This study aims to briefly summarize the relationship between lifestyle and skin function and the mechanisms that have been elucidated so far and introduce the expected effects of exercise on skin function.
Methods: We conducted a review of the literature using PubMed and Google Scholar repositories for relevant literature published between 2000 and 2022 with the following keywords: exercise, skin, and life habits.
Results: Exercise augments the total spectrum power density of cutaneous blood perfusion by a factor of approximately 8, and vasodilation demonstrates an enhancement of approximately 1.5-fold. Regular exercise can also mitigate age-related skin changes by promoting mitochondrial biosynthesis. However, not all exercise impacts are positive; for instance, swimming in chlorinated pools may harm the skin barrier function. Hence, the exercise environment should be considered for its potential effects on the skin.
Conclusions: This review demonstrates that exercise can potentially enhance skin function retention.
Keywords: Review methods; dermatology; diet; exercise; fitness; knowledge synthesis; life habits; lifestyle; lifestyles; literature review; literature reviews; narrative review; narrative reviews; physical activity; review methodology; reviews; skin; skin barrier; skin function; sleep; smoking; sugar intake.
©Ryosuke Oizumi, Yoshie Sugimoto, Hiromi Aibara. Originally published in JMIR Dermatology (http://derma.jmir.org), 14.03.2024.