Often times, you do something thinking it’s good for your health and fitness. But you couldn’t be more misguided. Here are some common misconceptions and habits that could potentially put your wellbeing at risk.
Staying under bright lights all day
Prolonged exposure to bright lights can cause permanent retinal damage in extreme cases. You may have heard of solar retinopathy. If you haven’t then now you know that is the reason why you are advised never to stare directly at the sun. Constant exposure to fluorescent lights or over-illuminated places can have the same impact. Cardiovascular diseases, severe headaches, stress, and anxiety are some of the common effects of excessive exposure to bright lights. A brightly lit room isn’t always good for you. Try staying under dim lights at varying points during the day. Figure out a balance for yourself.
Drinking less than two liters of water
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The ideal amount of water to drink is still debatable. There is never a hard and fast rule where water intake is concerned because of our physical and biological differences. But with water, more is always better. Drinking water only when you feel the need to can be quite dangerous so set yourself a target everyday. With two liters, you’ll always be safe. Carry a bottle of water with you everywhere. Once you start doing this crossing the two-liter threshold will be a breeze.
Not cleaning your washing machine
It’s surprising how most people don’t consider this a necessary step for healthy life. The soap and other additives we put in only work for the clothes, not for the machine. The machine is high on bacteria so when we leave it unattended it will fester and stick. On another washing the bacteria will stick on the wet clothing and eventually move on to our body when we put on the clothes. A great way to avoid this would be to do your washing with hot water and bleach (not the regular detergent). Sun dry your clothes as far as possible.
Sitting for two hours or more
Not moving around is always wrong but when you find yourself sitting for more than a fair length of time, it’s time you get moving. Sitting down for extended periods put you at risk of not just gaining weight but also heart conditions and muscles spasms. Keep yourself in check every few hours and get off your desk for five or ten minutes or go for a short walk or do some stretching. Absolutely avoid more than two hours of sitting down for a TV show marathon as there’s nothing worse you could do to yourself.
Wearing contact lens too often
Contact lenses essentially sit on your cornea, tightly. The way they sit, the tissues of the eye are kept from receiving oxygen. That is obviously not a good thing. While wearing contacts are much easier to deal with than wearing glasses, using them too frequently and for long hours may seriously put you at risk. You may experience discomfort, dryness or even blurry vision. Limit the use of lens and alternate between wearing your glasses and lenses.
Brushing your teeth right after a meal
The rule is that you should brush thirty minutes after any meal. Else you may end up doing serious damage to your teeth enamel, especially if you’ve consumed citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges (which are acidic in nature). Brushing right after eating will result in teeth enamel erosion. Drink a glass of water right after eating and wait for at least half an hour before you run the bristles over your teeth. Try to keep off sugary foodstuffs and starchy carbohydrates. Also brushing and flossing after each meal is extremely harmful to your teeth. Brushing twice daily is ideal.
Sleeping for less than six hours
The number of hours for ideal sleep is just as debatable as the amount of water you should drink but sleeping less isn’t good for you at any point of your life. Well, sleeping for too long isn’t good either. Even if you have a difficult schedule to keep up with, make sure that you get in at least six hours of sleep each day. Also avoid irregular sleeping habits. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that oversleeping the next day is enough to cover for today’s three-hour sleep. Be consistent with your hours.
