Written by Satria Aji Purwoko · Date updated 07/04/2024
Many people know that smoking and consuming fatty foods are not good for health. However, there are also a number of other unhealthy behaviors that unknowingly affect your physical and mental health. See the full explanation below.
Various unhealthy behaviors that must be avoided
Unhealthy living behavior plays a role in the development of chronic diseases, including causing diabetes, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and even cancer.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic diseases cause 41 million deaths each year. This is equivalent to 71% of total deaths worldwide.
Therefore, it is important for you to start paying attention to several daily habits. The following are examples of unhealthy lifestyles or habits.
1. Watching too much TV or playing with gadgets
Watching TV or playing on your cellphone too often has a negative impact on your body's health. This behavior is associated with an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and pulmonary embolism.
Apart from that, frequently doing this habit without physical activity can reduce the brain's cognitive abilities.
This was proven through a study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry (2016). Researchers conducted cognitive tests on people who watched an average of more than three hours of TV per day for 25 years.
It is known that these people's test results are worse than people who don't watch TV often.
2. Late eating
Don't ever think that delaying meal times will reduce your weight.
Often eating late will actually increase your appetite afterwards. This can make you eat more and increase your risk of obesity and diabetes.
This habit is also bad for your health because it will slow down your metabolism, making your body feel weak. Apart from that, delaying eating can also cause stomach acid to rise.
It's best to take a moment to eat so you stay focused and enthusiastic about your activities.
3. Eat when you are not hungry
Just eating snacks or relieving stress by eating too often may cause excess calories for your body.
Excessive calorie intake leads to an increase in weight beyond the normal range, ultimately leading to the development of obesity. This state enhances the likelihood of experiencing a variety of health complications.
Not only diabetes, obesity also increases the risk of other diseases, including heart disease, stroke and even cancer. Therefore, it is important to watch your time and eating patterns.
4. Eating too much or too little
An eating disorder may manifest through an imbalanced diet resulting from excessive or insufficient food consumption, indicating an unhealthy way of living.
In general, eating disorders occur as a result of psychological and emotional problems, such as low self-esteem and poor views of one's body image.
If not treated immediately, this condition can cause physical and psychological complications, including heart disease, digestive disorders, stress, depression, and even suicidal behavior.
5. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption
Some people believe that smoking and drinking alcohol are "solutions" that can relieve the effects of stress they experience.
Nicotine in cigarettes can trigger the release of dopamine which has a calming effect. Meanwhile, alcohol will slow down the body's response to stress.
However, this bad habit has a bad impact on health. Some examples are increased blood pressure, damage to muscle tissue, and reduced oxygen in the blood.
6. Opening social media for too long
Some people may start to feel "isolated" due to being busy with social media. Social isolation is certainly bad for your mental and physical health.
Researchers from the University of Cologne, Germany, also found that opening social media for too long can cause feelings of envy towards friends which ultimately increases the risk of depression.
Playing on social media for too long also makes you relatively lazy to move. It's best to limit your time playing on gadgets and social media, then replace it with healthier habits.
7. Sitting too long
Sitting in a chair for too long may worsen your physical health. The reason is, sitting for a long time is related to a sedentary lifestyle, aka laziness in moving, which is certainly unhealthy.
The reason is, this condition can increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Not only physical, your psychological health may also be affected. People with a sedentary lifestyle are also at higher risk of experiencing stress and depression.
Try to move your body every half hour when sitting for long periods. This simple thing can keep your body and mind healthy.
8. Not doing regular physical activity
A sedentary lifestyle is also closely related to the tendency to rarely or not exercise at all. This is an unhealthy behavior or habit that has a bad impact on you.
In the short term, a body that lacks exercise may only show signs such as fatigue, aches, stress, difficulty sleeping, and weight gain.
However, over time this habit will increase the risk of life-threatening chronic diseases, including heart disease and stroke.
9. Stay up late
Waking up at night and sleeping the next morning is a habit that is bad for your health.
People who stay up late tend to engage in unhealthy behavior the next day, such as not doing physical activity and eating late.
If you have a habit of staying up late, change this behavior slowly until your body gets used to it and you can carry out normal activities.
10. Explosive anger
"Patience has its limits", the saying is true. Even though it is not recommended to hold back your anger, you should also know your limits so that it doesn't escalate and even explode.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA, found that people with high levels of anger are 19% more susceptible to heart disease than people who are calmer.
So, if you get angry easily and often have outbursts, it's time to start controlling the way you react to your triggers.
11. Thinking of yourself as stupid
Every time you make a mistake or shortcoming, you usually criticize yourself or call yourself stupid. Sometimes, this can even make you withdraw from social circles.
This habit does not directly refer to your health. However, this behavior will put yourself in a bad position and damage your mental health.
Criticizing yourself harshly may increase the risk of developing depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, changing your way of thinking to a more positive way can help you feel better.
12. Remembering past sources of stress
A study published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy (2017) found that constantly ruminating on a problem or past trauma can trigger symptoms of depression.
Constant thinking, or in the psychological world it is called rumination, can make you often haunted by negative thoughts that never go away.
Instead of doing that, slowly try to enjoy your precious time and make better future plans. If you have difficulty, ask for professional help, such as a psychologist.
13. Underestimating the dangers of air pollution
When traveling outside the house, especially if riding a motorbike on busy urban roads, it is a good idea for you to always wear a mask.
The air you breathe at that time may contain substances that pollute the air, such as particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO).
These unhealthy habits or lifestyles, which are often overlooked, can trigger serious health problems, such as problems with your lungs and heart.
There are still many unhealthy behaviors that you may often take for granted. Of course, it is important to adopt a healthy lifestyle to prevent diseases and conditions like the ones above.
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