By James Marsh
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Content Source: Take Part
No one can be a saint all the time. But if you're making any of these eight common blunders when it comes to your health, you may be sorry.
Common Health Mistakes
If you're young, you're paying more attention to your Twitter feed and the latest eliminations on The Voice than your health. Cuz after all, you won't have to worry about strokes and skin cancer for decades, right? Think again. Turns out, there's plenty of things you could be doing every day that are harming your overall health. For example, not using enough sunblock: certain types of skin cancer have increased a whopping 800 percent (!!!) among young women since 1970. And there's plenty more where that came from.
Are you making any of these eight blunders?
You’re Stressing Too Much
Millennials have a lot on their proverbial plates these days– including too few jobs and too much student debt. That adds up to an incredible amount of tension. In fact, a study by the American Psychological Association (APA) released in February 2013 showed that Americans ages 18 to 33, along with Generation X adult (ages 34 to 47), reported higher stress levels than other generations. Thirty-nine percent of Millennials said in the survey that their stress had increased in the previous year.
The health effects of so much stress can add up, ranging from headaches and other types of pain, sleep problems, nausea, and fatigue to depression and alcohol and drug abuse.
You Don’t Think A Stroke Could Happen To You
A study released in 2012 by the journal Neurology found that people between the ages of 20 and 55 are experiencing an increase in strokes, one of the most devastating health crises there is: “Strokes in younger people translate to greater lifetime disability,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Brett Kissela, in a recent article for TakePart.
The good news, though, is that stroke risk factors are mostly preventable: Since the biggest culprit is obesity, Dr. Kissela advised making healthier food choices and committing to regular exercise as ways to dramatically lower your odds.
You Think Pot Doesn’t Have Any Serious Health Consequences
Speaking of strokes, a regular marijuana habit has been tied to triggering these life-threatening events too: A 2013 study showed that smoking weed may double the risk of stroke in young adults, according to the American Heart Association.
Pot also affects brain development and can lead to emphysema and heart attacks, said Dr. P. Alan Barber, the lead investigator of the research.
Yet another reason to quit (or not start): A large study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that people who began smoking marijuana in their teens lost as many as eight IQ points between ages 13 and 38. It’s worth noting that those lost cognitive abilities weren’t restored in those who later quit smoking.
You Don’t Screen Yourself For Skin Cancer
Since 1970, melanoma has increased by 800 percent among young women and by 400 percent among young men, making it the most common form of cancer for those between 25 and 29 years old, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Even one blistering sunburn in your younger years more than doubles the risk of melanoma—the deadliest form of the cancer—later on in life, the Foundation says. So apply that 30 SPF sunscreen often, and don’t even think about those tanning beds: Just one tanning session increases the chance of melanoma by 20 percent.
You Floss Sporadically (Or Not At All)
This bad habit certainly isn’t limited to Millennials, but about 66 percent of young adults have periodontal disease (a.k.a. gum disease), the most common cause of tooth loss in adults, according to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The best way to prevent losing your choppers? Start flossing, every day and even after every meal; stop smoking or using smokeless tobacco; and make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C.
Not sure how to properly floss? Check out this diagram from the American Dental Association. You could also be helping to keep your heart healthy too, as research shows a connection between gum disease and heart disease.
You Overdo It On Energy Drinks
If you suffer from headaches, stomach pain, or sleeping problems, take a closer look at what you’re drinking. According to American Medical News, hospital visits related to energy drinks like Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster, have doubled, growing to almost 21,000 from 2007 to 2011. The most common age of the patients? Between 18 and 25.
Side effects of these energy drinks include rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, obesity (from all those extra calories), and insomnia, the report said. And when combined with alcohol, the drinks can lead to extreme intoxication and even death
You’re Drinking Too Many Diet Drinks
The University of Texas Health Science Center found that diet soda isn’t doing a very good job of helping young adults keep their weight in check. The 2011 study found that those who consumed two or more diet drinks a day had “waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of non-users,” the researchers reported.
What’s more, research has also found that mice given aspartame, the artificial sweetener found in many diet products, had increased blood glucose levels. The results suggest an association between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans, though more research needs to be conducted.
Until then, while you’re passing up that Red Bull, you may want to forgo the Diet Coke, too, and just have a glass of water.
You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
Getting eight hours of shut-eye? If only. Just 29 percent of Millennials say they get enough sleep—that’s about seven to nine hours for most people. It’s a problem that can have big consequences for your health: Besides making you crabby and less able to think clearly, more research is linking a lack of good-quality sleep to weight gain.
One of the newest studies, released in March 2013 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, reported on 68,000 women (of all ages, not just young adults) followed for 16 years in the well-regarded Nurses’ Health Study. Women who slept seven or fewer hours a night gained more weight over time compared to those who got at least seven hours of sleep nightly. The study noted that other research has found a connection between obesity and sleeping fewer than seven hours.
Content Source: Take Part
No one can be a saint all the time. But if you're making any of these eight common blunders when it comes to your health, you may be sorry.
Common Health Mistakes
If you're young, you're paying more attention to your Twitter feed and the latest eliminations on The Voice than your health. Cuz after all, you won't have to worry about strokes and skin cancer for decades, right? Think again. Turns out, there's plenty of things you could be doing every day that are harming your overall health. For example, not using enough sunblock: certain types of skin cancer have increased a whopping 800 percent (!!!) among young women since 1970. And there's plenty more where that came from.
Are you making any of these eight blunders?
You’re Stressing Too Much
Millennials have a lot on their proverbial plates these days– including too few jobs and too much student debt. That adds up to an incredible amount of tension. In fact, a study by the American Psychological Association (APA) released in February 2013 showed that Americans ages 18 to 33, along with Generation X adult (ages 34 to 47), reported higher stress levels than other generations. Thirty-nine percent of Millennials said in the survey that their stress had increased in the previous year.
The health effects of so much stress can add up, ranging from headaches and other types of pain, sleep problems, nausea, and fatigue to depression and alcohol and drug abuse.
You Don’t Think A Stroke Could Happen To You
A study released in 2012 by the journal Neurology found that people between the ages of 20 and 55 are experiencing an increase in strokes, one of the most devastating health crises there is: “Strokes in younger people translate to greater lifetime disability,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Brett Kissela, in a recent article for TakePart.
The good news, though, is that stroke risk factors are mostly preventable: Since the biggest culprit is obesity, Dr. Kissela advised making healthier food choices and committing to regular exercise as ways to dramatically lower your odds.
You Think Pot Doesn’t Have Any Serious Health Consequences
Speaking of strokes, a regular marijuana habit has been tied to triggering these life-threatening events too: A 2013 study showed that smoking weed may double the risk of stroke in young adults, according to the American Heart Association.
Pot also affects brain development and can lead to emphysema and heart attacks, said Dr. P. Alan Barber, the lead investigator of the research.
Yet another reason to quit (or not start): A large study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that people who began smoking marijuana in their teens lost as many as eight IQ points between ages 13 and 38. It’s worth noting that those lost cognitive abilities weren’t restored in those who later quit smoking.
You Don’t Screen Yourself For Skin Cancer
Since 1970, melanoma has increased by 800 percent among young women and by 400 percent among young men, making it the most common form of cancer for those between 25 and 29 years old, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Even one blistering sunburn in your younger years more than doubles the risk of melanoma—the deadliest form of the cancer—later on in life, the Foundation says. So apply that 30 SPF sunscreen often, and don’t even think about those tanning beds: Just one tanning session increases the chance of melanoma by 20 percent.
You Floss Sporadically (Or Not At All)
This bad habit certainly isn’t limited to Millennials, but about 66 percent of young adults have periodontal disease (a.k.a. gum disease), the most common cause of tooth loss in adults, according to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The best way to prevent losing your choppers? Start flossing, every day and even after every meal; stop smoking or using smokeless tobacco; and make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C.
Not sure how to properly floss? Check out this diagram from the American Dental Association. You could also be helping to keep your heart healthy too, as research shows a connection between gum disease and heart disease.
You Overdo It On Energy Drinks
If you suffer from headaches, stomach pain, or sleeping problems, take a closer look at what you’re drinking. According to American Medical News, hospital visits related to energy drinks like Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster, have doubled, growing to almost 21,000 from 2007 to 2011. The most common age of the patients? Between 18 and 25.
Side effects of these energy drinks include rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, obesity (from all those extra calories), and insomnia, the report said. And when combined with alcohol, the drinks can lead to extreme intoxication and even death
You’re Drinking Too Many Diet Drinks
The University of Texas Health Science Center found that diet soda isn’t doing a very good job of helping young adults keep their weight in check. The 2011 study found that those who consumed two or more diet drinks a day had “waist circumference increases that were 500 percent greater than those of non-users,” the researchers reported.
What’s more, research has also found that mice given aspartame, the artificial sweetener found in many diet products, had increased blood glucose levels. The results suggest an association between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans, though more research needs to be conducted.
Until then, while you’re passing up that Red Bull, you may want to forgo the Diet Coke, too, and just have a glass of water.
You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep
Getting eight hours of shut-eye? If only. Just 29 percent of Millennials say they get enough sleep—that’s about seven to nine hours for most people. It’s a problem that can have big consequences for your health: Besides making you crabby and less able to think clearly, more research is linking a lack of good-quality sleep to weight gain.
One of the newest studies, released in March 2013 in the American Journal of Epidemiology, reported on 68,000 women (of all ages, not just young adults) followed for 16 years in the well-regarded Nurses’ Health Study. Women who slept seven or fewer hours a night gained more weight over time compared to those who got at least seven hours of sleep nightly. The study noted that other research has found a connection between obesity and sleeping fewer than seven hours.