An active lifestyle can reduce the risk of disease, extend your lifespan and save money – but some habits like smoking or overeating are detrimental to our wellbeing and can be difficult to break.
Understanding the cause of unhealthy habits and replacing them with healthier ones are vital steps towards changing them for good. Here are a few suggestions to get you going:
Smoking
Since the 1950s, medical experts have linked smoking to various health problems. Smoking damages nearly every organ in the body and increases risk for cancer (lung, esophagus, throat, larynx and mouth), heart disease, stroke and lung diseases like chronic bronchitis or emphysema. Smoking also worsens many eye diseases as well as tuberculosis and problems of immunity like rheumatoid arthritis; it increases miscarriage rates among pregnant women while increasing odds for miscarriage or miscarriage or premature birth; miscarriages or premature deliveries; babies born low birth weight or with cleft lip/palate at birth or later age due to smoking during gestation or in gestation; miscarriages from miscarriage to miscarriage with or during gestation increases substantially as does gestation;
Secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke can have serious detrimental health effects for nonsmokers as well. This is due to its toxic chemicals such as nicotine, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds found in tobacco smoke products that burnt.
When the urge to smoke strikes, try postponing it until the craving passes – typically three to five minutes later. In that time, distract yourself by taking deep breaths – inhale through your nose for three counts, hold for another three, exhale through your mouth – visualizing fresh air filling your lungs sip by sip while drinking slowly or find something else to do until the urge subsides.
As someone who has recently quit smoking, the best way to prevent relapse is to avoid places, people and situations that trigger you into smoking again. Also helpful is swapping out cigarettes for other healthy options like low-calorie snacks like carrot or celery sticks; sugar-free gum; hard candies or drinks such as water or unsweetened tea.
Drinking
Drinking can be a potentially risky habit when it becomes part of your everyday routine, particularly if it becomes part of the regular ritual. Alcohol has been linked with numerous health conditions including depression, high blood pressure and heart disease. Though moderate drinking has been shown to improve overall health, it’s still wise to assess any risks from regular alcohol consumption and how you could potentially lower it. If you want to know more about drinking and other factors that affect the ranks of states in America, you can check here in MSN.
Even just one drink per day can still be harmful. Depending on the strength of alcohol you’re consuming and your own body’s response to its effects, even one or two can still disrupt sleep, appetite and energy levels. If you regularly drink, aim to limit it to under 14 units a week – roughly equivalent to one can or bottle of regular strength beer, two glasses of wine or 30ml of spirit.
Your strategies to reduce drinking may involve various tactics. First, identify what triggers the urge to drink: it could be specific times, places or people. Next, alter your environment in such a way as to eliminate those triggers or find other distractions to stop that urge right in its tracks.
Counting drinks is an effective way to understand how much you are drinking, setting daily limits and only going out for drinks when it is clear that they will stay within those boundaries. When out with friends, resist the urge to join rounds by ordering just one drink at a time – binge drinking (four or more drinks within two hours) increases BAC significantly and puts you at risk of both hangovers and serious health complications.
Eating
Junk food can have an unhealthy impact on both boredom and hunger, yet following a balanced diet and engaging in regular physical activity will allow you to enjoy occasional treats without fearing repercussions. It’s essential that individuals recognize any unhealthy behaviors they have such as buying candy before going on trips then keeping it lying around, in order to identify sources of harmful behavior, then work toward changing or eliminating those habits altogether.
Consider stocking healthy snacks and meals at work or home that can be eaten quickly on-the-go, such as low-fat yogurt with fruit or individual protein pots for breakfast and lunch. Avoid keeping unhealthy items visible; consume mindfully by paying attention to how your body responds when eating.
If you typically eat alone, make an effort to sit down at a mealtime and consider this your mealtime. Doing this will allow you to focus on what’s on your plate without mindless overeating, plus avoid distractions such as TV or electronic devices during eating time. Your brain needs time to register hunger and fullness levels; take your time when eating.
List all of your bad eating habits you’re striving to change and highlight any that are working well, this will help you recognize what’s working and stay on the path towards making good choices. Remember to acknowledge small steps such as switching from white bread to whole-grain or drinking water rather than soda; all these small changes add up over time!
Staying up late
Are You a Night Owl? Your creativity may peak during the evening hours; however, lack of sleep can hinder productivity and aggravate health problems. Sleeping six-8 hours each night at an appropriate quality level is crucial for good health; staying up late disrupts natural sleeping cycles which then impact how they perform the next day as well as increasing risk factors like heart disease or diabetes.
Studies indicate that people who sleep late are at greater risk for being obese and high blood sugar than those who rise earlier each morning. High blood sugar can result in fatigue and headaches as well as serious health complications like heart disease or diabetes.
Some people stay up late for work or school. Pulling an all-nighter might seem like the ideal solution to getting something accomplished quickly; but in reality it often doesn’t pay off; poor test scores often result as does diminished ability to think critically and remain alert.
Study findings published this year in Neuroscience Journal indicate that staying awake too late kills brain cells in mice and may do the same to humans. There are ways to improve one’s sleep habits though; such as not eating large meals within several hours before bedtime and avoiding intense physical exercise or artificial lighting that disrupt sleep patterns.
Avoiding exercise
Though occasional sweet treats or skipping the gym may seem harmless, unhealthy habits can create serious health problems over time. From heart disease and cancer to poor immune function, bad habits can prevent us from living our best lives. But it is not too late to change these harmful patterns: adding more vegetables into your diet and increasing exercise are effective strategies for breaking unhealthy patterns that lead to longer, happier lives.
Although many know sword swallowing and smoking cigarettes as risky activities, many don’t understand that sitting all day on the sofa can also be just as hazardous – in fact studies show it as one of the primary contributors to early death.
