Discover Few Habits to Give Up on That Are Ruining Your Health

“You cannot change your future; but you can change your habits, and surely your habits will change your future” Dr Abdul Kalam, our honorable former President of India, himself a sterling example of austere living, has put it succinctly.

So, what are these chains of habits which grow on us quite unknowingly and become too heavy to be broken?

1. Bad Sleeping habit:An adult needs 6 to 8 hours of good quality of sleep every night. Sleep deprivation leads to deranged cognitive issues like mood changes, irritability, difficulty in focusing and memory issues. It also leads to physical ill health like obesity, diabetes, heart disease. Be aware that the disruption of the biological circadian clock increases the odds of developing cancers of the breast, ovaries, prostate and colon. Develop the good habit of sleeping adequate hours by keeping away your mobile phone, learn the art of meditation or mindfulness, seek the help of numerous Apps which teach you breathing techniques and if they fail seek professional help for Cognitive behavioral therapy. Caffeinated drinks and excess coffee also interferes with the sleep rhythm.
2. Tobacco in any form:The permissible level of tobacco is exactly ‘Zero’. Hence one has to strictly stay off smoking, chewing tobacco, or consuming it in any other form like snuff, hookah. Identify your smoking triggers and work on them to cut off your craving. Seek professional help, there are specialists who will help you through de-addiction through medication, apart from counselling and a viable action plan.
3. Bad eating habits:This is probably the most abused habit amongst all and majority of us are guilty of. Eating too much processed food, binge eating, irregular eating patterns, mid night snacking, excessive calorie intake, and the like. Apart from causing all the systemic diseases like obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, they also lead to increasing risk for many cancers. Ensure that the diet is having adequate fiber content, low on red meat if non vegetarian, cut that sugar off and consume 2-3 litres of water every day if you are otherwise healthy. Having a workable diet plan is the cornerstone for a healthy life, a visit to a dietician for guidance is a must.
4. Kick the drinking habit:Alcohol is second only to tobacco as the leading causes of addiction. While it is known that drinking in moderation is not harmful, the truth is, once in the path of regularly consuming alcohol no matter what the frequency is, one gets onto the slippery slope of consuming enough which causes harm. Liver takes the brunt of the damage from alcohol and multi system disease and prediction to cancer.
5. The Couch Potato habit:We live sedentary lives, desk jobs, and then again in front of the TV or gadgets. A useful rule is that every wakeful hour one should have at least a 5 -10 min break off from the desk and move around. Another rule would be to be off all devices for one to two hours every day and be out door. Breathe in the air, the nature and sweat it out. Your body will thank you for it, more so in the advancing years.

Bad Habits are easy to fall prey to and one always feels that it’s easy to snap out of it. We fix a future date to start good practices. But these are heavy chains you’ve bound yourself to and not easy to break away. Start right away! This is your body, your life and your responsibility to yourself.