Everyone does their best to stay on top of their health, but it’s the culmination of small mistakes that seem to sneak up on you and wreak the most havoc in the long run. Fortunately, it only takes a few minor lifestyle adjustments to rewind the damage and build a defense of healthy habits that protect you in the years to come. Don’t miss this list of 10 common health mistakes to avoid:
1. Continuously Hitting the Snooze Button
Getting those 7 – 9 hours is one thing, but another lesser-known issue is the delirious nature in which people claw onto the shreds of their slumber by pushing that snooze over and over again. This practice is essentially stop-starting your sleep cycle, which can mess with your patterns and leave you even more tired during the day.
2. Brushing Your Teeth Too Soon after Breakfast
Since your youth, you were trained to believe that brushing your teeth is the greatest weapon you have against gum disease and cavities, which is still true. However, doing so directly after a meal (especially an acidic one featuring fruit or juice) erodes at your protective layers, increasing the chance of chipping or discoloration. Rather wait for 30 – 40 minutes first, as this will give the calcium’s remineralization process a chance, and then don’t forget to floss!
3. Ignoring New Arrivals on Your Body
If a fresh bump or lump moves into the neighborhood, always get it checked out just to be safe. There’s a good chance it’s just a swollen pimple, but then again, it could be a cancerous tumor. Why risk it? And while you’re at it, get your doctor’s opinion on any moles which may have changed shape, color, or size in recent times.
4. Googling Your Symptoms
Speaking of doctors, Google is not one! While it’s only natural (and generally harmless) to learn more about any conditions you are currently experiencing, you may develop a fear for something you don’t have, especially when many sites come with ulterior sponsorship motives designed to scare you into buying a product. If your curiosity simply must take a look, stick to the more popular of resources, and remember that your qualified medical professional will always know more.
5. Carrying Too Much Bag Weight
Over-packing your purse or backpack is a fast way to misalign your frame and place an unnatural amount of pressure on your spine. This can slowly weaken your posture and even aggravate future arthritis, which is why you should regularly clean out your bag and be vigilant about what “essential” actually means.
6. Slouching Postures
Slumping at your desk all day is good for nothing except overworked muscles, lack of spinal support, back pain, neck pain, pinched nerves, and countless other undesirable health complications. Focus on improving your core muscles during your workouts, or swap your office chair with an exercise ball because gyms are expensive.
7. Excessively Staring at Your Device
The health concerns revolving around device usage are plentiful, including posture trouble and a false sense of social activity due to the social media connection in the palm of your lone hand (which is a mental health nightmare). But wait, it gets worse! These screens emit a blue light known to stifle melatonin, a hormone which prepares you to fall asleep, and so always turn these guys off at least two hours before bedtime.
8. Loud Headphones
The nerves in your ears are fragile little creatures, so keep the noise down! Blasting music through your cavities is a one-way road to hearing loss, and so if you have a family history of the condition or are experiencing inner-ear ringing, then go get tested and take an extended break, while favoring those over-ear headphones rather than the earbud ones.
9. Holding in Your Urine
Thanks to today’s demanding responsibilities, you can’t exactly run out of every meeting just because nature demands your attention. But remember this: holding in your urine can stretch the bladder while giving bacteria a greater chance to grow and infect your kidneys. There are even cases where this seemingly innocent act has proven to be fatal, so treat all waste products as waste products, and get rid of them.
10. Ignoring Food Labels
Do not be fooled by the fancy colorful branding, loudly declaring a product to be “organic” or “fat/sugar-free”. The only foolproof defense against unwanted consumables entering your system is to read the labels and learn what it all means. Be wary of calories, fats, and gluten, as well as added sugars and sodium (salt). For an even stronger layer of security, avoid processed packaged foods altogether.
- Top Three Natural Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Remedies - April 12, 2018
- 10 Common Health Mistakes People Make Every Day - March 27, 2018
- Three Common Digestive Diseases and How to Treat Them Naturally - March 8, 2018