Poor health can be expressed in many ways, here we discuss 15 daily activities making you unhealthy so that you can implement appropriate changes in your daily lifestyle to ultimately improve your general health, wellbeing and longevity.
- One word: Sitting
Research is showing that despite regular exercise, sitting for long periods contributes to several health risks including cardiovascular disease. Experts even suggest the sitting is the new smoking. Break up periods of prolonged sitting by fidgeting, moving around in your chair and stretching your legs – ideally you should aim to walk around every half an hour to decrease potential damage to your body.
- Not drinking enough water
The body is more then 66% water – without it we wouldn’t last long! Getting enough water helps your cells, tissues and enzymes to function and keeps your metabolism going. If you become dehydrated, you may experience symptoms such as fatigue, increased hunger, constipation and weight gain. Keep a water bottle with you so that you can keep sipping throughout the day and stay hydrated. Hint: do some research on alkaline water!
- Eating late at night
Having a big dinner too late or midnight snacking can lead to indigestion, post nasal drip, poor sleep and weight gain. Your body needs at least a few hours to digest what you’ve eaten and prepare itself for restorative sleep. Make sure you finish your last meal at least 3 hours before hitting the pillow.
- Neglecting sleep
Burning the candle at both ends may seem like a necessary part of modern life, but it can have serious short term and long term consequences for your health. Not enough sleep can affect your mood, judgment, concentration and energy levels, and increases the risk of injury or accidents. Over time sleep deprivation has been associated with weight gain, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and depression. Ensuring that you get the right amount of sleep for you is important for preventing chronic disease and improving everyday function.
- Skipping your routine exercise
Many of us don’t enjoy pounding the pavement or lugging your bag to the gym. Having said that, ensuring your activity for at least 30 minutes each day is key. Movement has been shown to decrease the ageing process while also prevent chronic disease. Be creative and take the stairs, get off the tram a stop earlier, or take a walk with a friend on your lunch break.
- Carrying a bag of bricks
Big handbags have become not only a fashion statement but a necessity of everyday life. It starts with your purse, phone and keys. Then add in your diary, water bottle, makeup, umbrella, spare jacket and a book to read on the train. No wonder your bag feels a little on the heavy side. The problem is that all this extra weight places tension and strain on the body. Stress is felt in the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves, and your posture shifts to try and compensate the imbalance. This can lead to aches and pains, headaches, muscle strains and in the long run serious injury or degenerative joint disease.
- Eating too fast
When you’re super hungry and faced with a delicious meal, it’s not too hard to make a goose of yourself by eating it far quicker than everyone else and then going back for seconds without blinking an eye! Research is showing that speed eating may nearly double your risk of being overweight, as well as increasing risk for gastroesophageal reflux, indigestion and general discomfort. Simple answer is – eat slower and enjoy your meal!
- Ignoring sex
Daily stress and lack of time may make sex less of a priority for some people, but ignoring sex for weeks or months at a time can be detrimental to your health and your relationship. Sex not only feels good, but it has a host of benefits such as boosting your immune system, lowering blood pressure, lifting libido, improving sleep and lessening stress.
- Caffeine overload
A cup of coffee can be a delicious pick up in the morning. But excessive consumption of caffeine is one of the 15 daily activities making you unhealthy. It has been linked with increased blood pressure, higher risk of bone loss and osteoporosis, and worsening of anxiety and psychotic conditions. If you notice symptoms such as anxiety, tremors, heart beating in your chest, nervousness, upset stomach or poor sleep, you may be having too much caffeine.
- Holding onto grudges
We all experience things which may be a little harder to forgive and forget than others. But holding onto a grudge is probably doing you more harm than good. They can cause mental stress, as well as physical symptoms that may increase the risk of hypertension, heart disease and stomach ulcers.
- Binge drinking
It’s not just alcoholics who suffer from the ill health effects of drinking; regularly consuming more than the recommended amount can contribute to many alcohol-related problems. Apart from the obvious such as alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis, heavy drinking has also been linked to anaemia, increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, dementia and pancreatitis. It also dramatically increases risk of accidents and severe injury.
- Down playing your health
This comes down to a simple philosophy: prevention is better than cure. Our health often takes a back seat behind work, family, social lives and everything else we juggle day to day. Unfortunately this often results in a crisis or serious illness which forces us to pay attention, but is more difficult to fix than if we sought help earlier. You only get one body, so make it a priority and look after yourself to ensure a healthier, happier life.
- Staying in unhealthy relationships
There are many reasons that we might stay in an unhealthy relationship, whether it’s with a partner, friend, colleague or something in between. Unfortunately the longer we stay trapped in these toxic environments, the more negatively it can affect our mental, emotional and physical health. If you feel stressed, drained, controlled, insecure and ultimately unhappy when you’re with someone as well as after you’ve spent time with them, it may be time to make a change. Healthy and positive relationships are an important part of achieving balance and wellbeing.
- Cooking with the wrong oil
You may not realise that when heated to high temperatures, olive oil becomes unstable and form free radicals and harmful compounds that can damage your health. Coconut oil is a great alternative as it is very heat resistant and therefore will not easily oxidise or go rancid; it also has benefits such as improving cholesterol levels, increasing satiety and fighting against pathogens. Think about using olive oil for salads and light cooking, then switching to coconut oil when frying, baking or roasting to reap the health benefits.
The “slip, slop, slap!” campaign has made Australians very careful around the sun, and this is very important in reducing risks of skin cancer. However avoiding the sun altogether can be just as dangerous to your health. Exposure to sunlight allows Vitamin D synthesis which is crucial for your bones, muscles, lungs, brain, cardiovascular system and immune function. It has also been associated with reduced inflammation, blood pressure and elevated mood. Try to spend at least 20 minutes a day outside, and the more skin that is exposed the more benefit you receive.
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