Nowadays, it seems like you hear something new is bad for you every week. Striving for better health is a fight that never quite seems to stop. It can be hard to tell which advice is legitimate and which is really actionable. However, there are some habits that are unquestionably bad for your health. Habits that can cause real long-term suffering to your quality of life and even cause fatal damage. Here, we’ll look at the three main habits and what the serious danger of them is.
Smoking
This is an obvious one, but one that’s worth bringing up because it still kills so many, even when we have so many ways to stop it. Smoking doesn’t just lead to a risk of cancer and death through strokes and heart disease. It has a real impact on your day-to-day living. Your lung capacity, how tired you feel and even your sex life. It can negatively impact vision, your overall mood, and your appetite. Then there are the more visible effects, like constant coughing and a yellowing of the teeth and nails. Yet nowadays, it’s easier to curb smoking than ever. Nicotine replacement therapy has helped thousands. The widespread availability of vaping supplies is set to help even more. If you’re worried that your willpower isn’t enough, this replacement can be the key. Whether you use patches, gum or the sensation replacement that is an e-cigarette.
Drinking
Drinking is another one that has more negative long-term effects than you might imagine. What seems like a regular drink, even if you’re not getting flat-out drunk, can be dangerous. First, the dopamine stimulation that we can get from things like alcohol wears off over regular use. Which means you’re just left with the depressive effect of it, instead. Liver disease, nerve damage and stomach problems (like ulcers) are some other long-term effects. You don’t have to get drunk regularly to suffer some of the most serious problems of a drinking habit.
Inactivity
Rather than doing something harmful for you, one of the most dangerous habits is to do nothing at all. We all know that exercise helps us lose weight and gain muscle. But what does doing nothing do? For one, it affects your mortality rate by anywhere up to 49%. It damages your immune system and makes you more prone to get sick. Your bones, when not engaged and used, develop osteoporosis and grow weaker. This leaves you prone to serious damage, especially as you get older. Whilst you get better results from more exercise, all you need is 150 minutes of exercise a week to lose most of these negative effects. If you want to cut the risk of heart disease, you should do more.
Naturally, there are a lot of other habits that are going to cause you trouble in the long-run. The key to it is moderation. There’s little that can’t be enjoyed if you’re just more careful about it. It’s when it becomes a habit that it’s really a problem.