Doctors agree that breaking free from these bad habits is essential to living a long, healthy life.
Staying up late at night or skipping a workout may seem like no big deal, but it could sabotage your health and shorten your life expectancy.
Here’s how to ditch the most common unhealthy habits that doctors wish you would quit sooner rather than later:
Bad Habit: Eating Too Many Processed Foods
Many health experts warn against eating too many processed and artificial foods. It’s easy to reach for fast food when you don’t feel like cooking. However, highly processed options like greasy pizza and French fries are high in fat, preservatives, and sweeteners.
“Avoid processed foods, which can include chips and other snack foods, industrial breads and pastries, packaged sweets and candy, sugar-sweetened and diet sodas, instant noodles and soups, ready-to-eat meals and frozen dinners, and processed meats such as hot dogs and bologna,” advises Andrew E. Budson, MD.
Solution: Add More Whole Foods to Your Diet
Including fresh items in your diet, such as produce, raw nuts, whole grains, and lean proteins, will help you cut back on ultra-processed foods. Eating more natural options will improve your health in many ways. The Global Wellness Institute recommends whole foods for their micronutrient, fiber, and antioxidant content.
Bad Habit: Being Dehydrated
Everyone knows drinking water is essential to survive, but few realize the consequences of being perpetually dehydrated. According to WebMD, water is vital for proper bodily functions. It helps your kidneys eliminate toxins, keeps your skin healthy and hydrated, and balances your fluid levels, among other benefits.
Solution: Set Daily Water Goals
If you aren’t drinking enough water, setting a daily consumption goal can help you keep track. Generally, women should have around 11.5 cups daily, while men should have 15.5 cups. Get a reusable bottle to carry around, and try infusing your water with fruits to make it more appealing.
Bad Habit: Skipping Exercise
It can be tempting to let exercise slip through the cracks amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life. However, getting up and moving is vital to a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle.
Some benefits of working out include preventing excess weight gain, strengthening your heart, and boosting energy.
“Staying active reduces the risk of disease and can improve the quality and longevity of your life,” says University of Michigan Health MedSport’s Kristen Schuyten, D.P.T.
Solution: Find a Workout You Enjoy
There are many fun and fulfilling ways to stay active. Consider walking and taking the stairs rather than relying on vehicles and elevators.
Try a new workout class with friends or find a gym accountability partner. Finding an exercise you enjoy makes a significant difference in hitting your daily movement goals.
Bad Habit: Not Getting Enough Sleep
In addition to making you feel sleepy, grumpy, and unfocused, inadequate sleep is also bad for your health. Not getting enough sleep can raise your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and other serious conditions. Driving and going to work while tired can also be dangerous, as you might get injured or put others in harm’s way.
Solution: Improve Your Sleep Setup
Having a peaceful environment can significantly impact your sleep quality. Create a safe and comfortable space that’s dark and quiet so you can wind down at bedtime. Try to eliminate distractions before bed, like phones and TVs, and create a consistent routine by giving yourself enough time to fall asleep.
Bad Habit: Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Consuming too much alcohol will take a toll on your body and overall health. It can affect your brain, heart, liver, and other essential functions. Overindulging in alcohol also weakens your immune system, making it easier to get sick.
“The more you drink, the more harmful it is – or, in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” warns Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges of the World Health Organization.
Solution: Non-Alcoholic Alternatives
Do yourself a favor by swapping the alcoholic drinks for cocktails. Mocktails and non-alcoholic drink alternatives will satisfy your craving for something to sip on without the negative health consequences. While the occasional drink is fine in moderation, opt for alcohol-free beverages as often as possible.
Bad Habit: Staring at Screens for Hours
You’ve probably heard excessive screen time is unhealthy, but do you know why? The National Institute on Drug Abuse warns looking at screens too much can affect your sleep, mood, and brain functions. You could experience symptoms of depression or struggle to sleep at night if you’ve been looking at phones, tablets, and TVs for hours.
Solution: Unplug
Limit your screen time to avoid going overboard—making a conscious effort to put down the digital devices will help you connect with the outside world. Getting outdoors, spending quality time with loved ones, and pursuing personal hobbies are excellent ways to balance your technology time.
Bad Habit: Blasting Music
Reconsider blasting your music and podcasts at full volume. Regularly listening to headphones that are too loud can permanently alter your hearing.
The American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association warns that prolonged exposure to loud noises may spike blood pressure, raise heart rate, and diminish sleep quality. Loud sounds can also overwhelm and tire your brain, making concentration hard.
“Think of noise as static that gets in the way of what the announcer is saying,” explains Dr. Laurie Heller, a Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.
Solution: Monitor Volume Levels
According to the World Health Organization, adults can safely listen to 80dB sound levels for 40 hours weekly. Stick to these safe listening guidelines by keeping your devices at or under 60% of their maximum volume. There are even apps that can help you monitor sound levels so you don’t risk your ear health.
Bad Habit: Smoking
By now, you’ve probably heard all the doctor’s warnings about smoking cigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that smoking leads to 480,000 U.S. deaths annually. Regularly smoking often leads to coronary heart disease, lung cancer, and other potentially fatal conditions.
Solution: Challenge Yourself to Quit
There’s no better time than the present to quit smoking. Research and experiment with various strategies to find what works best for you, such as quitting cold turkey versus cutting back over time. You’ll add years to your life expectancy and lower the likelihood of serious health risks by quitting cigarettes sooner rather than later.
Bad Habit: Sitting All Day
People who spend a lot of time at home or in the office can easily get into the bad habit of sitting all day. Sitting for prolonged periods is scientifically linked to conditions ranging from high blood pressure to type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.
“Sitting increases your risk for most chronic diseases and increases your risk for early death,” says Dr. Keith Diaz of the Columbia University Medical Center.
Solution: Take Regular Stretch Breaks
Moving for a few minutes every half hour or so is all it takes to combat the negative side effects of sitting too long. According to the CDC’s recommended guidelines, you should also aim to exercise at least 30 minutes daily. Getting active by walking, jogging, doing yoga, lifting weights, and other workouts will prevent your body from suffering the consequences of prolonged sitting.
Bad Habit: Skipping Sun Protection
Do you only use sunscreen when you hit the beach on summer vacation? Medical professionals recommend wearing SPF daily to block harmful UVB and UVA rays. Skipping the sun protection damages your skin and makes it more susceptible to cancer.
Solution: Use a Daily Sunscreen
Invest in a quality sunscreen you can use daily. The American Academy of Dermatology Association suggests a minimum SPF of 30. Protecting your skin will keep it healthy and youthful while lowering your risk of skin cancer.
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Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
