You’ve got leg day down, cardio is covered, and you’re squeezing in a stretch sesh every so often, but it turns out there’s a one kind of fitness you’re probably neglecting.
Facial fitness. And research shows it has significant anti-ageing benefits.
A recent study – in the journal JAMA Dermatology – found that a daily facial exercise can make middle-aged women appear more youthful, with fuller upper and lower cheeks.
For the experiment, 27 middle-aged women, aged 40 to 65 years old, learned 32 distinct facial exercises, which they performed 30 minutes a day for eight weeks and 30 minutes every other day for 12 weeks.
Dermatologists were then tasked with rating the women’s facial features and estimating their age at the beginning of the trial, at week eight and week 20.
The raters found that upper cheek and lower cheek fullness, in particular, was significantly boosted as a result of the exercises and noticed, on average, a three-year decrease in age appearance over the 20 week period.
“Now there is some evidence that facial exercises may improve facial appearance and reduce some visible signs of ageing,” said lead author Dr. Murad Alam, vice chair and professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist. “The exercises enlarge and strengthen the facial muscles, so the face becomes firmer and more toned and shaped like a younger face.
“Assuming the findings are confirmed in a larger study, individuals now have a low-cost, non-toxic way for looking younger or to augment other cosmetic or anti-ageing treatments they may be seeking,” Alam said.
Give it a try for yourself with the facial exercises below…
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