Everyone has at least one forbidden pleasure which is injurious to health, whether it be grabbing stress or watching soap operas until the morning. Layfhaker offers a list of common unhealthy habits and recommendations that will help to say goodbye to them forever.
1. Drinking a glass of alcohol each night
Why addictive occurs
Often this habit is called "happy hour". And not without reason: alcohol causes the production of dopamine and endorphins - pleasure hormones. But in order to re-experience the same feeling every time it takes a bit more alcohol, and then some more... That is why it soon becomes difficult to do with only one glass.
Two or three glasses of alcohol from time to time in the company - this is normal. But the wine seven days a week - it is a problem.
It increases the risk of several diseases, including certain types of cancer and hypertension. If you do not feel any negative effects after drinking alcohol in any amount, then most likely you have already formed a relationship. This is an occasion to go to the doctor.
How to get rid of the habit
- Set the "sober" days. A couple of days a week drink only soft drinks. This helps to lower tolerance to alcohol. Therefore, the "alcoholic" days will be easier to understand when it is time to stop.
- Savor every sip. Stretch your gin and tonic or a glass of champagne for an hour. After each sip put a glass on the table.
- Measure. Pour 150 ml of exactly 45 mL of wine or spirits - looks as one portion of the beverage. The bars often served more portions, 200-250 ml. The same applies to mixed beverages in gin tonic is usually contained 1.6 servings of alcohol, in "Margarita" - 1.7.
- More talk, less drink. When it comes to the bar, do not run immediately to the rack. Order something non-alcoholic, and chat with friends. After all, you came to this, in the end! Later you can take a drink. For example, beer. Especially if you do not love him; then you can easily stretch one drink for the evening.
2. Drinking sweet coffee
Why addictive occurs
Conventional cup latte contains 14 g of added sugar. That is, 4 spoons - half the daily norm of sugar.
After you drink a cup of sweet coffee, the blood glucose level rises quickly. This is particularly fraught in the first hours after awakening: then the whole day you want more sugarAnd because of this it is impossible to adhere to proper nutrition.
How to get rid of the habit
- Boil coffee themselves. Usually you order a sweetened coffee, try to understand that it is not sweet enough, and add a couple of spoonfuls. But if you make coffee yourself, you will see how much sugar you consume is actually.
- Very refuse sugar. Brooke Alpert (Brooke Alpert), a nutritionist and author of the book "Sugar Detox", found that the complete abandonment of sugar - a more effective tactic than a gradual weaning. At first, maybe you will be hard, but you get used pretty quickly. Order unsweetened coffee at a coffee shop, half diluted milk or cream, can be supplemented with the cinnamon or nutmeg. Or ask the barista to mix coffee, milk and ice: Many people notice that unsweetened iced coffee tastes better than hot.
- Replace coffee flavored tea. Unsweetened tea is drunk a lot easier thanks to the pieces of fruit, spice and sweet flavor.
3. Watching TV late
Why addictive occurs
During the day you are too busy with other things, so the only opportunity to sit in front of TV and relax before bed falls. But a little longer to feel relaxed and resting, you go to bed later.
How to get rid of the habit
- Turn off the television an hour before bedtime. And decide how much time you can spend on watching programs or series.
- Move the TV in the next room. The bedroom has no place. If the bed is associated with you watching TV, it ceases to be a trigger, recalls that it was time to sleep.
- Delegate. If you are so busy that by the end of the day you do not have time for recreation, you need to step back. Think about what kind of business can be transferred to tomorrow, and what - to delegate. Scroll to schedule time to rest.
4. seizing stress
Why addictive occurs
Food - a simple way to relax, to escape, to feel comfortable. The trouble is that in times of stress you do not want to stewed vegetables, and foods high in carbohydrates or fats. Unhealthy food begins to be perceived as a reward, and in difficult periods of life without it you can not.
How to get rid of the habit
- Take care of yourself. Stress - is one matter, but with the lack of sleep, fatigue, and uncontrollable hunger harder to resist the urge to eat junk food. Sleep, rest during the day, eat normally.
- Soak pause. When you beckon potato chips, stop for a moment and ask yourself: Do you really want to eat, whether there is in them a physical need. If not, think about why you now need food. Possible answers: So you prokrastiniruete, trying to get rid of feelings of loneliness or a bad mood.
- Make a decision. If you have come to the conclusion, "Yes, I'm stressed, and no one will disturb me to eat these cookies," then put a plate in front of you, and eat the biscuits with full awareness of this fact. No need to reach for the cookies, when your thoughts soar somewhere else. This, of course, a small, but still progress: you cease to act on the machine. It is not a crime - allow yourself to eat something.
- Satisfy your need. Whether you decide to eat something harmful or not, understand what actually want your body and mind: break a walk to clear his head a bit, to communicate with one another or to record his experiences in a diary at the end of day. If you get rid of the cause, you will no longer need to run hand in a bag of chips.
5. Drink enough water
Why wont appear
You can come up with a million excuses why we do not drink enough water. Because water is tasteless, or simply forget or prefer soda.
A sufficient amount of water in the body protects against bad mood, improves the skin and digestive system - and this is an incomplete list of advantages.
The experts recommend drinking 2.5 liters of water per day. Twenty percent of this rule we get from foods with high water content - fruits and vegetables. But we must bear in mind that everyone's needs are different and depend on the environment, physical activity and health.
How to start drinking more water
- Track your progress. Wherever you were going, grab a half-liter bottle of water. Aim to fill it with another two or three times per day.
- Make the water taste better. If plain water - it's too easy for you, add to it slices of orange, cucumber slices and some fresh mint. Do drink not only tastes nicer, but also visually: if on a shelf in the refrigerator will be a nice jug of water, the hands themselves pulled over a glass.
- Give up soda. If you are used to with a variety of flavors of lemonade, try to begin to replace them with flavored teas without sugar.
6. Check smartphone before bedtime
Why addictive occurs
While talking people experience joy, burst of dopamine occurs. Perhaps for this reason you can not come unstuck from the smartphone screen.
But there is another side: light blue screen affects the quality and duration of sleep. Unlike TV, the smartphone you are holding right before your eyes, so a negative effect is stronger.
How to get rid of the habit
- Turn off your smartphone or tablet 2 hours before bedtime. Yes, we understand that it is not easy, especially if you like to get comfortable in bed with gadgets.
- Create a trigger. This thing that reminds you that you should not check Instagram after 9pm. Set the alarm on your phone or a reminder on your computer, it's time to call it a day.
- Avoid the temptation. Activate the "Do Not Disturb", which blocks all calls and notifications. If necessary, you can configure exceptions so that you were only available to selected contacts.
- Keep your distance. If before going to bed you put the phone on the nightstand next to the bed, it is likely that you will give up and check it in the most-the most recent times. To get rid of the temptation to leave the phone in the next room.
7. Do not apply pressure during exercise
Why wont appear
During yoga write posts, most of aerobics classes are chatting with a friend, read a magazine on bikes - everything is great distract you from exercise, so you do not perform at their peak opportunities. Typically, during a full workout strain, sweat, breathing hard, you get tired, and it's few people like it. Or do you just feel shy.
From each workout you need to get the most out. If you got to the gym, you need to give everything to the fullest.
How to get a result from training
- Engaged elsewhere. It seems that in the gym, looking at you with conviction? Train there, where you comfortable. Engage in video tutorials for home, with a personal trainer one to one or come to trenazhorku when there are few visitors.
- Engage in what you like. If you hate yoga, you will not be able to direct all attention and energy on the tree pose. Choose exercise that you like.
- Beat boredom. When you challenge yourself, the motivation increases dramatically. Set a big goal, whether it be jogging on the first 5 km, or preparing for the 100-kilometer marathon cycling.
- Make diversity. Variety makes the training interesting. Go to the gym early in the morning rather than the evening, as usual. Perform interval training. Or instead of the treadmill, go for a rowing simulator. All this brings a novelty classes, so the interest is preserved.