You’re aging every day, but are you sure you’re not aging way too fast? Maybe you’re practicing unhealthy habits that are causing you speed up the aging process, and you don’t even realize it. So, strap in and read these 10 behaviors that are causing you to age faster and how to replace them with healthier habits. You’ll feel and look younger.
1. You’re Boozing It Up.
If you drink lots of alcohol regularly, like on all your first dates, this has an aging effect on your body. Not only does alcohol consumption lead to a higher risk of illnesses such as cancer and liver disease, but it also accelerates the body’s stress hormone production, which attacks its production of collagen – that’s the substance responsible for keeping your skin supple and smooth. Try to slow down your drinking. Moderate drinking – one drink daily for women and two drinks daily for men – is considered safe.
2. You’re Bingeing On Junk Food.
When last did you cook a meal at home instead of order takeout? If you’re consuming junk food all the time, it’s going to make you age faster. Since junk food is usually high in harmful trans fats, these constrict the blood vessels and arteries, which reduces blood circulation to the skin. The result? Your skin looks wrinkled before its time. It’s not just your skin that takes a beating, though. Processed foods speed up the aging of your body’s cells. Don’t allow junk food to make up more than 10 percent of your daily diet to keep things safe.
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4. You Love Being In The Sun.
Do you lather on tons of SPF when you’re spending time in the sun? If not, you’re at risk of various health problems. You’re putting yourself at risk of sun cancer, while also making your skin look older. The harmful UV rays are responsible for most of your skin’s changes as you age, such as thinning of the skin, red and scaly skin, and age spots. If you’re going to be out in the sun, wear sunscreen and your sunglasses so you protect your skin and eyes.
5. You’re Not Getting Enough Time In Bed.
How much sleep are you actually getting? If you’re not stocking up on decent sleep every night, you could be aging faster. A lack of sleep causes spikes in cortisol, the sneaky stress hormone, which causes breakouts and destroys collagen. It’s also bad for our bodies. Without enough sleep, our body’s immune system can’t fight pathogens as easily, which can lead to illness and cause us to take longer to fight it.
6. You’re Stressed.
If you’re dealing with chronic stress, you’re harming your body in many ways. Stress hormones that are circulating through your body cause inflammation and damages the cells’ DNA, which speeds up aging. Stress also causes oxidative stress, which means your body can’t repair damage that it suffers. Find healthy ways to relieve stress and chill out, such as walking through nature, meditating, or doing yoga.
7. You Can’t Quit Smoking.
By now you know that smoking causes hectic health conditions, such as cancer and emphysema. But smoking also wrecks your skin, specifically the skin around your lips and under your eyes. It’ll give you the opposite of a facelift, by giving you jowls and more wrinkles. This is because smoking decreases your body’s collagen and reduces blood circulation, basically starving your skin of the nutrients it needs to be healthy. Ladies, you’ve got to quit this nasty habit.
8. You Sit All Day.
If you’re in a job that forces you to be chained to your desk and remain sitting, it’s not healthy for your body. If you’re sitting all day, you could start packing on the pounds, which can put you at risk of health conditions such as high blood pressure and heart attacks. But, research has also found that women who don’t get half an hour of exercise daily sit more and have shorter telomeres – structures that protect the ends of chromosomes –  than those who move their bodies. The result? They can age up to eight years more! Yikes. Try to move around for five minutes every hour to stay healthy.
9. You’re Eating Too Much Sugar.
Sugar leaves a bad taste in your mouth when it comes to how it negatively affects aging. It dehydrates the skin and sticks to proteins in the body, producing advanced glycation end products (AGEs) that wreck your skin’s collagen. So, you can say goodbye to supple, elastic skin. Try to reduce your sugar intake by eating fresh fruit instead of sweets or rice cakes instead of biscuits when you want a quick snack.
10. You Don’t Wash Off Your Makeup.
If you’re still going to sleep with a full face of makeup, you’re not only ruining your pillowcases but you’re damaging your skin. That nasty makeup mixes with pollution it’s collected throughout the day and sticks to your skin, preventing your poor skin from renewing itself while you sleep. The result? Older skin.
11. You’re Eating Too Much Salt.
Another diet no-no is consuming a lot of salt, such as in the form of frozen meals from the supermarket. Although convenient, these are packed with salt and can cause water retention and bloating, which makes you look puffy. When foods are high in salt, they wreak havoc on your body’s DNA, which shortens those precious telomeres we were talking about earlier.
