Nobody’s perfect, and many of us can fall victim to bad habits that can have severe impacts on our overall health and wellbeing. But are you fully aware of all the influences these seemingly small habits have on you? While a lot of the effects might be generally known, some of our habits are affecting us in ways we never imagined. Read below to find out the magnitude of your poor health choices and how much they are negatively impacting your life.
Smoking
Although it might be common knowledge at this point in time that smoking cigarettes can have many harmful effects on your body and lungs, there are still those who choose to smoke. Even though the numbers have drastically reduced in the past years, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 13.7% of U.S. adults in 2018 still smoked cigarettes.
Despite the well-known risks related to smoking, this habit can also take a serious toll on your wallet. In fact, smokers should expect to pay 2 to 3 times more on life insurance than a non-smoker. While different life insurance companies offer varying rates, smokers should be prepared to be open and honest about their habits, as they will be subjected to a medical exam. The exam, including a nicotine test, helps determine rates based on a person’s overall health and medical history. Even if you don’t consider yourself a ‘regular smoker’, keep in mind that even the occasional cigarette or only smoking in social settings can still allow companies to qualify you to pay smoking rates—causing your wallet to take a hit as well as your lungs.
Tanning Beds
As widely known as it is that the sun’s UV rays can have harmful effects on your unprotected skin, a widespread bad habit is to neglect to select the proper coverage for your body’s needs. Skin cancer, sun spots, painful sunburns, wrinkles, and melanoma are just some of the risks associated with overexposure to the sun’s rays.
But perhaps even more startling is the overwhelming effect that UV tanning beds can have on a person’s body. In fact, the Skin Cancer Foundation claims that individuals who use tanning beds have a 75% increased chance of developing life-threatening melanoma, even just from one session in the bed, before they turn 35. And although some exposure to UV certainly has benefits, like providing a good source of vitamin D, over-exposure offers a serious risk to one’s health. A healthy alternative to tanning beds is self-tanning lotions, wipes, spray tans, or going outside with the correct SPF coverage.
Excessive Drinking
The recommended amount of alcohol to consume moderately daily is one alcoholic beverage for women and 2 drinks for men. Therefore numbers drastically above this recommendation technically fall into the category of excessive drinking. Alcoholism can lead to many serious health problems like high blood pressure, liver damage, depression, and more. Furthermore, it is possible to adopt a strong dependency on alcohol, creating strong urges and can lead to withdrawal symptoms.
One way that men might not realize their alcohol consumption is affecting their body negatively is through their sex life. Excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to erectile dysfunction through factors of dehydration and impairment to the nervous system. But did you know that erectile dysfunction can also affect your relationship? This condition can create insecurities for both parties, so while your drinking habits can undoubtedly impact your body negatively, also consider how it is affecting your partner and your sex life.
Waist Trainers
Using waist trainers have become increasingly popular in the last few years, primarily among women, to help achieve smaller waistlines and decrease belly fat. Despite many celebrities who publicly display that they use waist trainers, using these corset-like contraptions can have some serious adverse effects on your body. Although the appeal of a waister trainer is understandable, as it boasts a skinnier waist with minimal effort, there are underlying issues with this method.
Therefore, the harmful consequences of waist-training must be considered. Due to the tight constraint of your mid-section, the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery says that waist trainers can severely damage one’s vital organs, restrict your lymphatic system, and even cause digestive issues due to the over-compression. While you may not notice these effects immediately, they are detrimental to your long-term wellness. Opt for core-focused workouts and better eating habits as a healthier option for trimming your waistline.
Whatever we may plead guilty to, it’s a good idea to take a step back and be honest with ourselves about how these habits are really affecting not only our health but other areas of our lives too. By educating ourselves and prioritizing our own well-being, we can put ourselves in place for a brighter and healthier future.
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