It’s easy to keep doing things the way we do them. They fade into the background and become part of the routine. Often, we are aware, on some level, that these things are not ideal: eating a certain way, smoking, drinking a lot of soda, and so on. However, it’s easier to ignore them and to allow them to continue. But to take care of your body and your emotional well-being, here are the things that you need to stop ignoring to do better.
Eating mindlessly
Treating our body as a trash can is a bad idea, but we often do this nevertheless. We eat without focusing and might eat too much, too much junk food, too much food that does not bring us pleasure or nutrition. We just eat for the sake of eating or as a way to relax.
There are several problems with this habit. First, it can lead to issues with weight, with digestion, and beyond. We might be eating too much but not getting the nutrition we require. We might eat too much stuff with sugar and lose control over how much we have consumed every day and how much it might affect us or not.
What can you do instead? Start eating mindfully. Try to eat and pay full attention to what you are eating. This doesn’t mean that you should just decide to eat salads and such. It’s about looking for food that is enjoyable and nutritious, and eating it while paying attention. Your body deserves better.
Applying makeup all the time
The second habit that might be hurting you is applying makeup all the time. Makeup can be fun and also help anyone look better. However, using it always can have negative effects.
Makeup can lead to skin problems, especially if the person uses lower quality products, uses a lot of them, or uses them over a large portion of their skin. Our face is very sensitive and can become irritated or show problems, like reddening, eruptions, acne, and more. The more problems we have, the more we are likely to try and use more make-up to cover it, but this can, in turn, lead to further skin issues.
It’s not about giving up makeup. However, you can reduce how often you use it and how many products you apply every day. Try to use better quality products and use less every day to ensure that makeup stays a fun hobby and doesn’t become an issues. However, you don’t need to apply it always and in every situation.
Sitting down most of the day
You might have a job that’s done sitting down and then you come home to sit on the couch or your favorite armchair. Sitting is more comfortable, but we need to be careful. If we sit too much, it can have a negative impact on our health. Sitting too much can make our bodies less resilient, more prone to health issues, such as cardiovascular problems, and lead to other negative effects. What’s more, because sitting down feels good, we usually don’t notice just how much we do it.
Instead of looking for a new job, you can implement simple solutions to the problem. Try to get up and move for five minutes at least once every hour. If that’s not possible, leave some space during the day to walk around and do simple exercises that will help counteract the negative effects of sitting.
If you can, get a standing desk and do activities like watching TV standing up or while moving about. Consider when you could be standing or moving instead of sitting and try to make movement a bigger part of your life.
Browsing social media
Social media is designed to be fun, easy, and addictive. And many people are, indeed, addicted to it. It’s easy to spend hours browsing and not notice just how much time per day it takes up. Many people spend four, even five hours browsing social media.
A little social media is not really harmful, but when we spend so much time, it takes away the time we could use for more productive things and healthier activities. Try to limit your social media use. You could uninstall the apps on your phone or set a specific time to browse, of course, making sure to respect the limits you set. Find other fun activities to do instead that will not leave you feeling like you’ve wasted a lot of time.
Being negative
Negativity permeates the news, social media, and our lives as well. It’s natural to notice bad things, remember the bad things, and focus on everything that’s going wrong. Sometimes, it feels so easy to complain or notice the bad, we can’t see or recognize the good.
It’s good for our physical and mental health to be more positive. We can cultivate this habit by being grateful: focusing on what others do for us and the things that we appreciate. We can also try to be more optimistic and remember that everything can get better in the future. If we stop being automatically negative, the improvements to our quality of life can be massive.
