10 Daily Habits to Avoid for Better Health

It’s obvious that certain habits are bad for your health, like smoking and too much processed food. But sometimes more covert saboteurs attack your health over time. They’re not always easy to recognize, impacting physical and psychological wellness and even your relationships.

But many of us succumb to at least one or two of these habits daily because they can seem so innocent that we don’t consider the long-term effects. But studies show the negative impacts of these harmful habits. So take a deep breath and evaluate your life in light of daily habits to avoid.

1. Rehashing Stressful Circumstances

Whether a recent event or something from your deep past, it’s not healthy to dwell on stressful circumstances. It affects your psychological well-being and is linked with depression. When you do this, you tend to focus on what is distressing rather than on helpful solutions, which is why it’s a daily habit to avoid.

Research has found that decreasing the amount of “rumination” time lowers your risk of depression and improves overall mood.

Monitor how much time you spend ruminating on stressful occurrences, especially when it comes to things you can’t change. Rehashing them in your mind will reinforce negative emotions and impact your health for the worse.

2. Venting to Others

Conventional wisdom says that we all need to “vent” when life gets to us. We tend to think of it as a “release” of pent-up emotions and assume that it is good to let off some steam. But the truth is you’re not really releasing negative emotions but are rather amplifying them.

Studies have linked this venting behavior to higher instances of depression because it’s a form of rehashing even though it involves others. In other words, venting to others not only keeps the negativity stirred up, but also magnifies it. This is even true with children who rehash and vent to friends.

Rehashing with friends even elevates your stress hormone levels, which increases your negative emotions and perpetuates your bad mood.

It’s best to process your emotions and focus on practical solutions or acceptance.

3. Being Self-Critical

Self-criticism takes many forms, like calling yourself dumb for every mistake or pointing out your own flaws, physical or otherwise. Unfortunately, this harsh attitude toward yourself can become a nasty daily habit, one that drains your health.

In fact, putting yourself down or beating yourself up can wreak havoc on your mental health to a degree that can also affect you physically. It’s even been shown to increase depression symptoms.

But there’s a powerful counter-balance knowns as self-compassion, which has been found to improve psychological health and resilience. In other words, be kind to yourself and lay aside negative self-talk and criticism that brings you down.

4. Staying Up Too Late

Ever wonder why you don’t necessarily feel refreshed when you go to bed later and sleep in, even if you get plenty of hours of sleep? Research suggests that when you sleep could be almost as important as how much you sleep. This is due to your natural sleep patterns and what your body has grown accustomed too.

You probably know how important quality and quantity of sleep are for your health. So to get the best sleep, hit the sack at a reasonable hour and get up early rather than sleeping in. If you’re a night owl, this will require some adjustments, but in time you will adapt to your new schedule and be healthier for it. For more information, read our article, Feel Like the Walking Dead? Get Better Sleep with These 7 Tips .

5. Too Much Social Media Scrolling

Whether your weakness is Facebook, Pinterest, or YouTube, social media scrolling is more than just a mega time suck: it’s a daily habit that can also negatively impact your health. Even though social media was designed to bring people together, it’s actually more likely to trigger feelings of isolation. Even though you’re watching snippets of people’s lives before your eyes, there is no meaningful social interaction, which can make you feel more lonely. Most importantly, social isolation is harmful to both your mental and physical health.

But isolation isn’t the only social media negative. This bad daily habit can also stir up feelings of discontentment concerning your own life. This kind of envy often leads to various states of depression, even though people think more scrolling will make them feel better. The truth is that too much time on social media plummets your mood.

Instead of relying on social media, it’s best to engage in true social interaction like having lunch with a friend or having a phone conversation. These are actions that actually improve mood.

6. Spending Money

Impulsive, emotion-based shopping leads to overspending and additional stress that can take a toll on your well-being. And you certainly don’t want this to become a daily habit. Even if you feel better in the moment, blowing your budget can be a major problem. Research shows that if you have debt you’re more likely to have mental health problems and are even more prone to suicide.

But it’s true that the exact correlation isn’t for certain. Whether it’s debt contributes to mental illness or the other way around, it’s apparent that debt causes stress, and stress is a major cause of health problems.

You can get a hold on your finances by creating a budget and sticking to it.

7. Eating When You’re Not Hungry

We can all think of an excuse to reach for a snack or second helping even when we’re not truly hungry. We develop daily habits like eating at night time and emotional eating. Some people even eat out of boredom. A big culprit is overeating at social gatherings because we find it easy to excuse.

But we know that excess calories leads to weight gain and a variety of serious health problems like:

●High blood pressure
●Type 2 diabetes
●Heart disease and strokes
●Sleep apnea
●Osteoarthritis
●Kidney disease
●Some cancers

Try to think of food as fuel rather than a stress reducer or entertainment. And of course, pay attention to your body and notice when you reach for food for a reason besides hunger. If you’re prone to stress eating, research additional ways to cope with stress.

8. Too Much TV

Couch potato behavior isn’t just bad for your body, it’s also bad for your brain. According to research, too much TV combined with little physical activity as an early adult affects brain function in mid-life. Moreover, those who watched more than three hours of TV a day for 25 years scored poorly on cognitive tests as compared with those who watched less TV.

If you want to boost brain health, exchange TV watching for more physical activity.

9. Neglecting Skin Health

Skin cancer is a real risk if your daily habit is to ignore skin health and forgo the appropriate protection. Apply SPF daily, even on cloudy days, to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer, including melanoma, by 40 to 50 percent.

And of course, avoid using tanning beds completely. Ultraviolet tanning beds carry a moderate to high risk for skin cancer according to the FDA.

In addition to slathering on the SPF, periodically schedule a visit with a dermatologist to pinpoint any suspicious areas and begin early treatment.

10. Sitting Too Much

Prolonged sitting leads to sedentary behavior and is linked to a host of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. And you even have a higher risk of depression of you sit much.

It’s tough to avoid this detrimental daily habit if you have an office job. But you can offset this problem if you aim for an hour of daily moderate activity. And be sure to get up and move around at least once every hour. This will help you keep a healthy body and mind even if your job requires you to spend most of your time at a desk.

Changing the Daily Habits that Sabotage Your Health

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially if you noted several daily habits that need to change for improved health. But you can relax a bit, because you don’t have change them all at once. It’s best to pick one or two areas that seem of higher priority and focus your energies on them.

If you’re already developing a health concern, then start with the habits that seem to be contributing to those problems. Write down the changes in attitude and behavior that you need to make and be specific. Share these with someone you trust and can report to concerning your progress and struggles.

Don’t Neglect Bladder Care

If you experience occasional or regular bladder leaks, be sure to discuss your symptoms with your doctor to determine any underlying causes. But meanwhile, make it a priority to purchase and use the right products that offer superior protection, comfort, and discretion.

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