7 Habits That Can Hurt Your Health

Editors Note: This is a fantastic guest post by Roman Soluk of Optimistic Life

You all know that in order to be healthy you should eat a healthy food, do regular physical exercises and give up smoking. But do you know that those little things that you do in your everyday have a huge impact on your health? Wondering what are those things?

These are your simple everyday habits. Throughout your life you acquire different habits. Some of them are useful, others are just harmless, while others, although are meant to improve your health, can on the contrary ruin it. Those things that may seem useful take energy from your body.

So, let’s find out what are those everyday habits that can have a harmful effect on your health…

7 everyday habits that can hurt your health

1. Regular lack of sleep

Nearly 50 years ago an average person slept 8 hours, now people sleep only 6.5 hours. People have begun to sleep less because of the accelerated pace of life. But apart from that the number of people is suffering from sleep disorders (for example, due to stress).

Remember that a regular lack of sleep for a few days in a row leads to irritability, depression and even obesity.

2. Constantly trying to lose weight with the help of diets

Some people really succeed in losing weight with the help of diets, the other fail. But there are such people who despite their failures constantly try and try new diets, starting them again and again.

They always have a sense of guilt and frustration over the unfulfilled plans for weight loss, they are trying to punish themselves with a more strict diet, suffer from constant hunger (and often from the lack of essential substances). As a result they fail again.

Remember, your diet must be balanced, and the attempts to lose weight successfully must be accompanied by physical activity. Only then you can succeed.

3. Chronic pain

Some people who experience chronic pain, for years put off a visit to the doctor, thinking: “Today I feel better, maybe it will stop hurting.”

But such person starts to feel muscle weakness, loss of appetite and libido, reduction of physical activity, restless sleep and poor concentration. They always feel exhausted and this greatly reduces the quality of life.

4. Drinking too much coffee

A cup of coffee adds some energy, but too much coffee every day will act vice versa. It’s simple: you get used to it and your body requires more and more coffee, but you can’t increase this amount all the time.

In addition, the consumption of caffeinated beverages increases dehydration. For those who find it difficult to give up the habit of drinking a few cups of coffee a day, it makes sense to combine them with drinking water during the day.

5. Regular intake of energy drinks

Energy drinks should not become a regular morning habit. Drinking it as a sufficiently powerful stimulant, a person receives a huge dose of caffeine, taurine and often ginseng. After such an effect your body needs rest and recovery. At particular risk are your liver, nervous and cardiovascular systems. Besides, when drinking these drinks too often you get used to them and thus their effect becomes weaker and weaker.

6. Lack of oxygen

The lack of oxygen from a permanent stay in a stuffy room slows down the metabolism and causes fatigue. So, remember to walk outdoors more often, think of some effective breathing techniques, etc.

7. Lack of movement

Lack of movement causes your muscles lose their tone, and soon you’ll experience lack of energy. Moreover, physical activity reduces not only the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but also the risk of depression.

Conclusion

So, keep this in mind. If you really want to take care of your health, to keep fit and simply feel good, try to avoid these things.

This list isn’t limited to these 7 habits, so think before you’ll try something new even if it seems useful for your health. Take care of yourself and be healthy!

Roman Soluk is a founder and author at Optimistic Life. He writes about positive living, life improvement, relationships and health care. Get in touch with him on Google+.

14 Responses

  1. Amit Sodha says:

    Hi Roman,

    Thank you so much for proving me with this superb article. Sometimes in life, it’s not only important in life knowing what to do, it’s also important to know what not to do! I do feel it’s important to know those things and recognise them.

    I’m guilty of a few of these, and I know only too well the terrible side effects of lack of sleep. That one can definitely not be emphazied enough!

    Thank you again Roman.

  2. Roman Soluk says:

    Hi Amit,
    Thanks so much for the opportunity to write for your blog. It’s a great pleasure!

  3. Gareth says:

    The energy drinks one is so true. I see so many teenagers walking around drinking them too its actually bizarre, but they are really cleverly marketed.

    • Amit Sodha says:

      Hey Gareth, very kind of you to leave a comment…No doubt Roman will reply personally also.

      I wholeheartedly agree. I don’t think people understand just how much they can harm ones health. The biggest concern is how much people drink these days and just how much caffeine and sugar they contain.

      The ultimate energy beverage is water….none of those drinks come close!

    • Roman Soluk says:

      Thanks Gareth for commenting! I appreciate it!
      You’re right, energy drinks are really cleverly marketed. So many teenagers love them!

  4. Marlyn says:

    I agree with you. People in the olden days have enough hours of sleep. They also practice nap time. As time goes by our world are becoming busy, some go to work without breakfast only coffee.

    • Amit Sodha says:

      Hey Marlyn,

      Indeed, sleep is crucial. I had a first hand experience of the effects that lack of good quality sleep was giving me. It truly does make you cranky, makes your emotions less stable and can even lead to depression.

    • Roman Soluk says:

      That was my mistakes some time ago. And it really hurt my health. Now I try to have enough sleep and a good breakfast.

      Thanks Marlyn for commenting! Much appreciated!

  5. Blues says:

    Great post Roman!
    I know I struggle with the sleep issue. I used to have insomnia, so you would think I would be grateful for my ability to sleep easily now, but I still stay up past the point of comfort. I need to respect my body and sleep when it wants to sleep.. and we could all breathe a little deeper!

  6. Vanessa says:

    Great tips, Roman. Just simple health principles, but things that we often need to do consciously. I’ve become very aware of how easily my body starts to get out of balance if I don’t move…. especially sitting at a computer for hours, as most of us do these days. Just a few stretches and a bit of walking can make all the difference!

    • Amit Sodha says:

      Hi Vanessa, funnily I had back issues because of that fact that my job is quite sedentary. I just got a new expensive chair and have started doing exercises to strengthen my core muscles which is making a difference.

      Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    • Roman Soluk says:

      Hi Vanessa,
      Thanks a lot for your comment and sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate it!

Share your thoughts with the world :-)