By Sanumriaz 
We consider that we are having healthy life style when we are eating healthy, doing proper exercises and taking quality sleep. What if we have daily bad habits which are secretly harming our health?
It is important to know that there are some bad habits which have negative effects on our health. And we must learn how to change these unhealthy habits into better one to have healthy life.
Skipping Breakfast in Morning
Most common bad habit which is observed is not having proper breakfast.
It is best to get up early and have proper time for breakfast. It provides you energy to carry out your daily routine work. When you skip your breakfast due to hectic morning routine then it directly affect your health.
If you constantly skip your breakfast it will start to disturb your gut health and metabolism. It also increases your cravings throughout the day. You will have energy level to carry out daily task.
Why people skip breakfast? According better health channel a research conducted in Australian community following are the main reasons of skipping breakfast.
- not having enough time or wanting to spend the extra time being in bed
- trying to lose weight
- too tired to bother
- bored of the same breakfast foods
- don’t feel hungry in the morning
- no breakfast foods readily available in the house
- the cost of buying breakfast foods
- Cultural reasons.
People who skip breakfast for long period of time start to develop obesity, insulin resistance and heart diseases. Skipping breakfast is bad habit for your long term health.
You can choose a quick breakfast like
- boiled eggs which are rich in protein
- smoothie made from fresh fruits and vegetables
- whole grain cereals with milk or fresh yogurt
- a toast with milk
- yogurt with vegetables
Using Your Phone before Bed
Another bad habit is using phone before bed.
Nowadays it became ritual for most of us to use mobile phone till late at night. It seems like it is relaxing your mind and a way to get rid from all day’s exhaustion. But actually this blue light from emitting from mobile screens affects the quality of sleep. This blue light of mobile suppresses melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep quality.
You must need to set digital curfew to maintain your eyes health and quality of sleep. Instead of screen read a book or have some soft and relaxing music which will relax your mind and improves the quality of sleep.
You can use glasses which will protect your eyes and will not affect your sleep. You can also opt for night shift or dark mode to protect your eyes and quality of sleep.
You need to change this bad habit to stay healthy.
Sitting for Long Period without Moving
Most of the people have 9-5 work routine in form of desk jobs. After jobs most of people spend their time while sitting on couches, cars or hotels.
These prolonged sitting is a bad habit which have negative effects on our health. It can cause weight gain, diabetes and risk of heart diseases.
You can go for desk job exercises to maintain your health. You can walk during calls as well.
Packed “Healthy” Snakes
Most of the time we consider that eating protein bars, snacks, diet yogurt and low fats chip are healthy but actually they are secretly harming our health.
They contain hidden sugar, artificial flavours and preservatives. These ingredients can cause bloating ad inflammation and disturb gut health.
Instead of choosing unhealthy snacks you can choose smart snacks like whole food i.e. banana, boiled egg, homemade trail mix
Drinking Water only When Thirsty is a Bad Habit
Most of the people only drink water when they are thirsty is a bad habit. You must keep on drinking water even when you are not thirsty.
For example when you get up in the morning you don’t feel thirsty at all but you must drink warm water on empty stomach to give yourself a boost.
This can cause mild to chronic dehydration which results in the fatigue, headache, brain fog, dry skin and even effect digestion.
When you drink coffee, tea or soda instead of water is a bad habit which secretly harms your body.
Always carry reusable water with yourself and drink water whole day. You can add mint, lemon and cucumber to make it refreshing.
Brushing Teeth Right after Meal
You should never brush your teeth immediately after meals. This is bad habit especially when you have eaten any acidic food like citrus, tomatoes or juice. This is because it will damage your enamel.
The science behind it is that acids in your meal soften the outer layer of teeth. When you brush immediately after meal it will further wear it down.
Instead of brushing immediately you can rinse your mouth with water if needed. Then you wait for 30 minutes and after that brush your teeth.
Manage Stress Properly
When someone says stress it feels like is is a psychological issue. But this is deep rooted in you overall physical health as well.
Chronic stress can cause gain in body weight and long term issue like high blood pressure and digestive problems.
Holding in Urine Frequently
Holding urine unnecessary is a bad habit. Urine contains the toxic in the form of uric acid. When you are busy and holding pee for longer period of time and you to it often then it start to damage your health.
Holding urine for longer period of time stretches the bladder and weakens the pelvic muscles. It increases the chance of infections and UTIs.
You must pay attention to your body signals whenever your body signals you to use bathroom then go for it without any delay.
Eating in front of Screens
It is unhealthy practice to have your meal while focusing on TV screens or scrolling down. When you main focus is other that meal then you may eat to quickly or slowly which affects the digestion and gut health.
The best way of eating meal is to focus on meal. Use your senses on meal. Focus on taste, smell and texture of meal. In will enhance your appetite and make digestion satisfactory.
Skipping Regular Health Checkups
Some time you feel fine and skip the annual medical checkup because it seems unnecessary.
There are certain conditions like hepatitis; blood pressure and diabetes do not have early symptoms. Only through regular screening you become aware of these conditions and treat them timely.
These bad habits do not have immediate effects on the health but they have long term effects on your health. These unhealthy habits have long term effects on energy level, mental and physical health.
These are not such habits which cannot be changed. The only thing we need is awareness and their long term effects. By changing these habits we can maintain a healthy lifestyle.