| credits: google.com
Driving with the windows down
We feel pretty content cruising up the
motorway with the wind blowing through our
hair on a warm day, but we never spare a
thought for our poor lungs as we breathe in
the harmful pollutants emitted by cars.
A study from the University of Southern
California has found that spending a mere six
per cent of our day driving in the car with the
windows down exposes us to around 45 per
cent of the pollutants that we encounter in 24
hours — that’s a lot of pollutants to come
into contact with in such a short amount of
time.
In cities, driving with the windows down poses
an even higher threat to your health. Instead
of winding the windows down during a traffic-
ridden commute, try letting some fresh air in
before you start your journey and save having
the wind blowing through your hair for your
voyage through the countryside.
Carrying heavy handbag
You’ve packed your makeup, baby wipes,
phone, purse and keys. And your camera too
(were you planning on taking pictures of
anything interesting during your trip to the
chemist?) Oh, good to see you brought the
old batteries from the remote — never know
when you might need them. Those broken
headphones could come in handy — thank
goodness they found their way in there too.
Er, ladies (and gentlemen, if you’re quite
partial to carrying a ‘manbag’) do you really
need all this stuff? Surely, these ‘essentials’
could be cut down a bit? Lugging a heavy load
around can really take its toll on your health
by causing back spasms, disc degeneration,
neck problems, arthritis, and poor posture.
Spring clean your handbags and manbags, and
possibly consider trading them in for a
smaller version.
Spending too long exercising
It’s pretty common to think that the more
time we spend on the exercise bike, the
better. The truth is, too much of a good thing
can be counter-productive; and that goes for
exercise too. Working your body too hard can
lead to abnormal hormonal changes (which
can trigger weight gain), a weaker immune
system, muscle damage, shin splints, and
knee, foot, or back problems. While it’s
important to reap the benefits of exercise for
a healthy lifestyle, don’t go overboard.
Scrimping on sleep
You’ve crammed everything you can possibly
fit into 24 hours and more, when, suddenly,
you look at the clock and it’s way past the
time you hoped to go to bed and closer to the
time you need to get up for work.
Scientific research has proved that we look
less attractive when we’ve had little sleep. But
droopy eyelids and pasty skin are the least of
our worries when it comes to our habit of
scrimping on sleep. No matter how healthy
you are, how much you exercise, or how
much you weigh, getting too little shut-eye
can seriously affect your health.
Scientists studied 5,600 people of a healthy
weight and size for three years and found
those who skipped sleep quadrupled their risk
of stroke and heart disease. Fix a specific time
to go to bed and stick to it.
Avoiding the scales
In many households across the world, the
scales are the one piece of equipment
gathering more dust than the treadmill. A
common way to gloss over our weight
problems is to avoid going on the scales
altogether. If you feel like you’ve gained
weight, it’s best to face the facts to see how
much you’ve gained so you can do something
about it before it gets out of hand.
Everyone’s weight naturally fluctuates, so
don’t panic if you’ve gained a couple of
pounds here and there. But if you gain more
than five pounds, you should probably rein in
your eating habits. Checking your weight on a
regular basis allows you to nip it in the bud if
you discover a weight problem — losing the
odd few pounds is much easier than trying to
shed a stone.
Silent worrying
You worry about the meeting at work, you
worry about putting the bins out … and it’s
really getting you down. While stress can be
positive in helping to keep you alert and avoid
danger, too much of it can be detrimental to
your health. Endless worrying eventually leads
to distress, which causes headaches, high
blood pressure, an upset stomach, chest pain,
and sleep deprivation.
While it’s natural to worry when you have a
deadline looming, panicking too much about
petty things needs to be sorted. When you’re
worrying, ask yourself a few simple questions
and answer them as honestly as you can. Will
you still be worrying about this in a couple of
weeks’ time? Can this problem be easily
resolved? If you can’t let it go, tackle the
problem head on until it is resolved. If you
can learn how to control your worrying,
you’re well on your way to a happier,
healthier lifestyle.
Stopping medicines suddenly
Most of us are guilty of this one; we’re feeling
much better and stop taking our medication,
but suddenly end up feeling a whole lot
worse. How often do you consider the health
risks of this? Depending on the medicine you
are taking, going ‘cold turkey’ can cause all
sorts of health risks, which range from mild,
to moderate, or serious.
Discontinuing your medicine suddenly can
cause mild headaches, rapid return of the
illness that you were treating, and seizures, to
name only a few. Abruptly stopping certain
medications can be life-threatening, so keep
taking it until your doctor tells you to stop.
And when you do get the ‘all clear,’ take
medical advice when you’re discontinuing
them.
Forgetting to floss
Flossing is a key component when it comes to
oral hygiene, but it’s a step that many of us
skip because we don’t feel much different
whether we floss or not. It’s worth changing
your routine though, because plaque between
the teeth can be more serious than you may
think. If the bacterium finds its way into the
blood stream, it can cause chronic
inflammation and increase the risk of heart
disease, stroke, cancer, and premature birth.
The cosmetic implications of not flossing are
another obvious concern. Unless you would
like to lose all your teeth in favour of some
rapper-style gold ones, it’s recommended that
you floss at least once a day to stop your
pearly whites from being weakened by plaque
and eventually falling out. It looks like we
need to start brushing up (get it?) on our
dental hygiene routines for the good of our
health.
Skipping breakfast
Skipping your breakfast and then continuing
with your day is like trying to drive your car
with a very low tank of fuel — it will feel fine
to start with, but eventually slow down and
cut out. Not only will you feel less active and
sluggish, skipping breakfast — whether it is
due to lack of time or fear of putting on
weight — is linked with a higher risk of
diabetes and can lead to obesity as your body
stores up more fat to use as fuel throughout
the rest of the day. Eat breakfast to feel
happier, more functional and, most of all,
healthy.
Drinking water from the warm tap
Scientists suggest that drinking water from the
warm tap could cause lead poisoning. Lead
can enter some water systems from corroded
plumbing work, but drinking high levels of it
can have potential health risks, particularly in
children where it can lead to brain damage.
Although scientists emphasise that the risks of
lead poisoning are small, it’s recommended
that you use the cold tap for preparing baby
formula, drinking, and cooking.
•Adapted from realbuzz.com















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