I woke up with wrinkles…how do I get rid of ‘m?

Okay, I get it. We’re all under a bit of stress lately. And yes, it’s more important than ever to eat right , drink plenty of water and exercise when stress is taking its toll. Aside from the occasional overindulgence, I’m a particularly healthy eater, I never leave home without a bottle of water, and as for exercise, come on people - I work at a health club! So when I woke up the other day with a brand new set of wrinkles…I wasn’t going to stop until I had some answers. Where did these nasty little devils come from and how can I get rid of them (without a needle)? After a little bit of research, here’s what I found: YES! You can actually get wrinkles practically overnight. Here’s how it happens: Collagen, the substance in our skin that keeps it fresh and healthy is a  protein (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collagen).   When the body becomes stressed, it releases adrenalin, and our body responds by releasing cortisol in preparation to “fight or flight!”  (http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm) . In doing so,  cortisol tells the body’s cells to dump a little sugar into the bloodstream for energy! Well….if you don’t sweat out this stress induced sugar dump, the sugars will bind to the proteins and stick around, impairing their function- and the collagen’s ability to do the job it was meant to do. The body places healing itself as a priority over regenerating new cells, and fresh, young looking skin is no longer on the agenda! Stress also increases dryness, making wrinkles more prominent. Wow. good to know.  BUT NOW WHAT? The healthiest way to reverse the wrinkles is to exercise more, meditate often, take deep breaths throughout the day and drink plenty of water. For an over the counter remedy, Allure magazine’s March 09 issue recommends the following products: Olay Regenerist line and Kinerase Night cream. Another option is to ask your dermatologist for a prescription for a Retin-A or Tazorac, both which have short chain peptides proven to turnover cells and plump up the skin. My personal plan is to get more sleep, breathe deeply more often and  increase my time on the treadmill. I also plan to eat an avocado a day, because I believe that the natural fat and chlorophyll will help the skin immensely. This begs the question: can I get a margarita with that guacamole?