You know very well, or at least you probably heard for the umpteenth time that eating excessive junk food, binge drinking, or smoking can hurt your health, but there are a lot of little-known bad habits that have become a part of our everyday lives.
Here are seven Frequent Habits That Are Slowly Harming Your Health every day.
7 – Washing your hands with hot water
Different studies have all reached the same conclusion that both hot and cold water have the same potency when it comes to killing germs and ridding bacteria when we wash our hands. These studies demonstrated that water at both 16°C and 38°C did not seem to play any significant role regarding their potency against bacteria or germs. Also, it has been repeatedly proven that cold water is indeed better for washing your hands than hot water.
There is an apparent misconception that hot water kills bacteria. However, this is wrong since only nearly boiling or scalding water can actually kill bacteria – which is precisely what is used to sterilize medical equipment. Since hot water isn’t a practical option for washing your hands, it is advisable to stick with cold water. This is mainly because washing your hands with warm water will leave you even more susceptible to germs. Hot water effectively softens your skins, making it easier for germs to stick.
6 – Consuming too much salt
Salt makes our food taste better, but yet, it’s not very healthy. High salt consumption has been linked to several health conditions, including heart disease, stomach cancer, and high blood pressure.
Despite being a must-have kitchen condiment, salt effectively causes the body to retain water, and water retention in the body produces high blood pressure which can impair the normal function of the kidneys, heart, and arteries.
5 – Excessive Sleep
At a certain point, more sleep does not equal more rest or better health. Oversleeping, as revealed by several studies, is a potential health hazard.
The recommended length of sleep can vary between 7 – 9 hours from person to person. However, excessive sleep regularly has been linked to higher rates of depression, mortality, obesity, impaired brain function, and heart disease.
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4 – Drinking from plastic bottles
Many people do not see any problem with drinking straight from a plastic bottle since plastics have become a comfortable and easy way to package most drinkables. However, not all kinds of plastics are safe for you and even the environment. At high temperatures, plastic bottles release toxic chemicals that can lead to adverse health effects.
For instance, plastic bottles exposed to direct sunlight or locked in the car on a sunny day can cause its outer layer to release bisphenol A – a toxic chemical – that can poison the fluid. This chemical is cancerous and can both harm your endocrine system and heighten the chances of breast cancer.
3 – Sitting on your wallet in the back pocket
It’s very natural to stick your wallet in your back pocket; sometimes it’s even the most comfortable position. But comfortable isn’t always healthy. Even 15 minutes of sitting with your wallet in your back pocket, can cause your spine to shift from its natural position, and this will slowly cause your spinal ligaments to change.
Eventually, this will cause an asymmetry that can distort the natural spinal alignment of your body. Other side effects of sitting on your wallet for extended periods include sciatica, chronic back pain, and functional scoliosis.
2 – Having your electronic devices in bed with you
Several studies have concluded that using electronic devices just before bedtime can significantly impair the quality and duration of sleep. Nonetheless, a recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation highlighted that over 89% of adults and 75% of children regularly go to bed in the company of at least one electronic device.
Apart from cutting short, the length and quality of sleep you get, going to bed with electronic devices can also cause fatigue during the day and weight gain. Thus, it is good practice to completely abstain from using any electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime. This will considerably help to improve the length and quality of your sleep – both of which have excellent health benefits.
1 – Using cotton swabs to clean your ears
Ironically, cleaning your ears with cotton swabs is not a healthy thing to do. A study has demonstrated that cleaning your ear with a cotton swab actually pushes the earwax deeper into your ear canal. The resulting consequence of which includes impacted earwax, infections, perforated eardrums, and tinnitus.
The healthy and recommended thing to do is to avoid cleaning your ear and allow the earwax to fall out naturally. The earwax is like the ear’s filter, preventing foreign substances from getting in. So, the more you attempt to clean your ear, the more open your ear is to pollution. If you still feel a strong need to clean your ear, then a towel would do.
