Common Bad Habits and the Penalties they Attract

Our habits can have a significant impact on how we function, react to situations and respond to life’s issues, so it’s no surprise that the habits we indulge can influence the turnout of our lives daily. For most people, it’s easy to recognize the wrong lifestyle habits but what about the hurtful habits you’re probably not conscious of? Read on!

Guilty or not guilty, how do you plead? Everyone is guilty of bad habits, and if you pretend like you’re not then you’re probably in self denial, with the burden of having an embarrassing habit. While these habits may be pleasurable or you cannot help indulging, what you need to know, however, is the truth and the truth is, your common habits might be doing more harm than you think.

Given that we’re all marked by our habits, what are these habits and how do they affect you? Here’s the surprising truth;

Multitasking

The Pleasure: You probably take pride in how well you’re able to combine activities and multitask things like; Walking or driving while texting, eating while working or watching tv, which either saves you time or allow you maximize the moment.

The Price: Multitasking does you more harm than good and can pose real dangers to your physical and mental capabilities according to recent medical research. Reduction in conscious control of emotions, memory loss, short attention span and distraction from reality often leading to accidents are but a few costly implications of multitasking.

Cracking your joints

The Pleasure: You’ve been sitting at your desk all day, and your neck feels stiff. You roll your head around and hear a pop in your neck that suddenly makes it feel better. You might have noticed that your other joints feel looser and you enjoy more mobility for a while after cracking. If you can relate to how relieving this acts can be, it only means you’re a habitual “joint cracker”.

The Penalty: Relieving as it may feel cracking your joints, the reality is that you might be sowing seeds for a variety of non-immediate but overtime side effects that threaten your bone and joint health. Studies have revealed that habitual joint crackers tend to have reduced joint strength compared to other people as they progress in age. What this means is you might be setting yourself for an unpleasant old age.

Combining beauty products

The Pleasure: Are you a beauty product junkie? Do you find yourself addicted to enhancing your allure by combining certain perfumes, creams, make-up, hair conditioners or shampoos to level up to your already appealing looks? Keeping up appearances can truly be satisfying especially when it gets you the attention and admiration of the crowd.

The Penalty: While on the surface it would appear an even or appealing mixture, beneath the surface where it truly counts, it’s total chaos. The chemistry behind blending different beauty products which have incompatible ingredients may produce catastrophic results to your skin and hair, leading to often severe irritations and disorders like balding, hair breakage, acne, eczema etc.

Nail biting and other nervous habits

The Pleasures: Nail-biting is the most common of the typical “nervous habits” most people indulge, which include thumb sucking, hair twisting/pulling, tooth grinding, and skin pinching. You may bite your nails in times of stress or excitement, or in times of boredom or inactivity without realizing you’re doing it especially while you’re involved in other activities.

The Penalty: As you bite your nails, you’re likely to transfer bacteria from your fingertips into your mouth and the rest of your body, where they may lead to infections and wear down your teeth prematurely. The other nervous habits can also lead to general wear and tear of the areas they occur.

Unhealthy eating and dieting

The Pleasure: Sure food is good for you but the way you go about your consumption determines how satisfying, nourishing or pleasurable it can be. Binge eating, skipping meals, eating late and even dieting, are examples of eating habits you’re likely to indulge out of convenience or just sheer joys of being a foodie.

The Penalty: By not properly planning your meals on schedule, regularly eating late, consuming a lot of junk food, skipping meals, eating oversized portions, unbalanced dieting and drinking sugary beverages all contribute to severe eating disorders that can eventually lead to malnutrition, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, ulcers, heart disease and even depression.

Sleeplessness or oversleeping

The Pleasure: For many of us, sleeping is something we wish we could get more of. Modern day life can be quite hectic at times, which naturally can increases our stress levels and cause us to indulge sleeping habits that suit us most. From assuming funny sleeping positions, to sleeping too much out of boredom or laziness and sleeplessness, your sleeping habits can have a major impact on your life.

The Penalty: Poor sleep habits can precede life threatening situations and various sleep disorders or your bad habits could be symptoms of something deeper. Constant tiredness, irritable tempers, poor concentration, lack of appetite and addiction to prescriptions are but a few of the dangers of keeping poor sleeping habits.

In summary, identifying these usual but unhelpful habits you’re guilty of without knowing is just the first step to your salvation and breaking these habits should be your next line of action. Remember, what you invest in for yourself today is what you’ll have to live with tomorrow, and just like getting yourself insured against any eventuality, managing your guilty habits now will save you a lot of future drama.