Everyone has bad habits – and they can be hard to break. Some habits are harmless, but others can be detrimental to your health. Here are some of the worst bad habits for your health and how to avoid them. Which are you doing?
1. Emotional Eating
If you’re eating due to stress, boredom, depression, or anything else other than actually being hungry, you may be an emotional eater. Eating for the wrong reasons will most likely cause you to binge on junk food instead of the foods your body needs, and that can cause obesity and other health problems. To prevent emotional eating, try keeping track of what you eat and why. If you learn to be aware of your body’s reaction to certain kinds of stress and emotional activity, you can avoid overeating and stick to a healthy diet.
2. Going to Bed Without Flossing
Flossing your teeth is arguably more important than brushing. Not only is it important to prevent cavities and gum disease, but bacteria in your mouth can cause health problems in other areas of your body. Surprisingly, people with bad oral hygiene are more likely to develop heart disease and pancreatic cancer.
3. Midnight Snacking
Despite what you may think, eating late at night doesn’t cause you to gain more weight than eating any other time of day does. Your body processes food the same way morning, noon and night. However, your culinary choices late at night are more likely to err on the side of junk food than on the side of fresh produce. Unless you have a healthy snack prepared, it’s best to skip the late night grub altogether.
Read: Easy and Healthy Late Night Snacks
4. Not Sleeping Enough
Sleep is vital to your health. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you could be doing major damage to your body. Plus, the lack of focus and energy will seep into other areas of your life, causing you to slip in your nutritional habits, exercise routine and job performance. When you don’t sleep enough, your body’s ability to regulate hunger goes out the window, as does its ability to tell when you’re full. That makes it easy to overeat without even knowing it. Plus, your immune system deteriorates when you don’t get enough sleep, making you vulnerable to illness. Start a sleep schedule and stick to it as often as possible, as regular sleep is just as important as getting enough of it.
5. Smoking
Though it may be obvious, smoking deserves a place on this list. Many people smoke despite the known health risks. Smoking can cause emphysema and cancer. Speak to your doctor about the best way to quit smoking.
6. Skipping the Sunscreen
Spending too much time in the sun can cause skin cancer, not to mention the aging effects of exposure to UV rays. Always wear sunscreen when spending time outdoors, and wear protective when you’ll be out for an extended period of time.
7. Doing the Same Workout Over and Over
Your body adapts to repeated physical activity, and when muscles become used to certain moves, they’ll stop growing. Change up your routine on a regular basis to give your body new challenges and to increase your stamina.
8. Avoiding the Doctor
Many people ignore the symptoms of a greater problem for months or years, until the problem becomes impossible to ignore. Make an appointment with your doctor and discuss steps you can take to make sure you’re on the lookout for any potential illnesses or problems. Plan your diet to get all the nutrients you need, and take supplements if necessary. Nothing is more important than your health, and being aware of your own body and its problems is the first step to staying healthy.
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