Most people have at least one bad habit. These can range from things that negatively affect your health, that impact your appearance, and that can even cause issues in your social life.
People develop bad habits due to two major factors: stress and boredom. Most of the time, these habits are usually created to deal with emotions, such as biting fingernails. The best way to stop a bad habit is to find new, healthy ways to deal with these feelings, and use measures to replace what you were doing beforehand.
Some habits are a lot worse than others, and obviously some, such as those involving addiction, are harder to stop, but here are some of the worst that are actively ruining your health and need to be addressed.
Not Drinking Enough Water
Drinking enough water and staying hydrated has a lot of great benefits to our health; however, there are still too many people out there who aren’t getting enough H2O. Water helps keep our memory sharp and also aids in motivation, meaning that a lack of it can make us feel demotivated and dull. It also helps keep our skin healthy, allows muscles and joints to work better, and helps clean nasty toxins from your body.
The recommended amount of water intake ranges between males and females — at 13 cups and 9 cups respectfully — but a good way to know a good amount for you personally is to monitor the color of your urine. If it’s light yellow, or looks kind of like lemonade, then you’re drinking enough.
Not Sleeping Enough
Sleep is so important to our health as it allows our body to recover, helps boost our immune system, and promotes better brain function. So, not getting enough sleep can be really detrimental.
Furthermore, being sleep deprived can have awful mental health effects as well, as it can fuel depression and anxiety. It may also make it harder for you to lose weight when dieting and make you crave and consume more sugar and caffeine to give you that energy boost. This can increase your chances of developing cavities and tooth decay, increasing your likelihood of needing an emergency dentist like emergencydentalservice.com.
It’s recommended that adults should be getting around 7-8 hours of sleep regularly. This is even more for teenagers and children; however, there is no magic number, so listen to your body and get the right amount to help you function at your best.
If you have trouble sleeping, the best solution is to find out the root cause of the problem. This can be due to an underlying health condition such as obstructive sleep apnea. If you suspect you have it, consult your doctor, so they may recommend a sleep specialist that can diagnose your condition better. They may also prescribe you medications or oxygen therapy, where you will need to wear comfortable CPAP masks to help you get the right amount of oxygen while you sleep. (CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure.)
Eating Late at Night
There’s a lot of people out there who find themselves eating too close to their bedtime and doing this can have some surprising negative effects on your health. By moving your dinner an hour or so earlier, you’re increasing the time between meals, which allows the body to process the food more efficiently, meaning you can absorb more of the vital nutrients and burn off the calories and fat easier.
Eating earlier can also help make you sleep better at night, as late-night meals can cause indigestion that greatly interferes with the quality of your sleep. Additionally, snacking before bed should be axed too, as the majority of times, the food you’re going for isn’t the healthiest.
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