We all have bad habits we find tough to shake off, be it out of convenience or comfort.
For this article, I will play off our site name and nag at you guys like any well-intentioned parent or senior would do. This list of common bad habits was inspired by my own (surprise, surprise…), and I hope that you’ll steer clear of them if possible!
A small disclaimer: I’m no doctor, and what I’ll cover is no substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical condition.
Bad habit #1: Having the fan or air-con blow directly at you
While Singapore has always been humid, the finicky weather has taken it up a notch.
Many of us have turned to cooling devices set at full blast, blowing their output straight at ourselves for relief. You’ll feel instantly refreshed but, if your fan or air conditioner isn’t the cleanest, you’ll end up breathing in more dust than you’d like. You don’t want this if dust is an allergen.
You may also dry out your skin, eyes, and nasal passages. This is why you may feel very congested and generally not so great when you wake up. Move your fan further away from you, or adjust your air-con settings; this may do the trick!
Small tip: if you sleep with the air-conditioner on and wake up to occasional muscle cramps or stiffness, check and see if it’s the cold causing your muscles to constrict.
Bad habit #2: Slouching too much and not stretching at all
It’s hard to sit properly 24/7, especially if you’re studying or working from home.
I feel you. Sometimes we don’t do this intentionally, too; we just want to feel comfortable while working on our tasks. The minute you catch yourself sitting cross-legged, craning your neck, sitting on one leg (guilty as charged), or anything that requires you to contort yourself, however, put a quick stop to it!
Poor sitting posture, slouching included, shows startling side effects over time. The first is body aches and pains, which we can alleviate through body massages and pain-relievers.
Other side effects, unfortunately, are harder to fix. These include joint misalignment, varicose veins and disrupted digestion due to poor blood circulation, nerve pain and more. They say health is wealth for good reason: just check out the prices for regular physiotherapy or chiropractic sessions. I’m speaking from personal experience when I say that you’d be in for a surprise, and not of the pleasant sort.
Try to stand up and walk about every half to one hour, and do some light stretching to release some tension from your muscles. When sitting, make sure that your feet touch the floor; your elbows should be bent 90 degrees. Here’s an informative guide that may be of help!
Bad habit #3: ‘Revenge Bedtime Procrastination”
As socmed-savvy individuals, I’m sure you’ve heard of this term coined by the Chinese. It’s used to describe instances when someone deliberately sacrifices sleep at the expense of some ‘well deserved me-time’. This act is supposed to be a form of rebellion that helps you exercise self-authority, and one notch higher than simple bedtime procrastination.
If that sounds like what you’ve been doing recently, please don’t do it! You’ve definitely heard of the perils of sleep deprivation, and how many young adults spend too much of their time in a waking fog.
Here are some useful tips from NYC Singapore!
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There’s a lot of benefits to sleeping enough and on time. These include sharper concentration, a better mood, lowered risks for disease and more.
If you’ve tried to get some quality sleep but failed to do so because of recent developments—‘coromsonia’ is actually a thing—you’re not alone. Here are some lifestyle changes you can try out to see if things will improve:
- Practise better sleep hygiene, which means no working on the bed and refraining from using your phone/devices in bed
- Eat fewer heavy dinners to avoid prolonging digestion, which may keep you up at night
- Have your last drink of caffeine no later than the evening, as studies have shown that caffeine
- Stop the instinctive desire to check out the time if you wake up in the middle of the night, as this may stress you or cause you to feel anxious
Have you been practising any of these bad habits? I hope this article has helped bring them to your attention! Do take better care of your body and yourself; that’s one of the best investments that will pay off in the long run.
Are there any bad habits you’ve had that you’ve successfully nipped in the bud? Share what they were, the moment you realised they had to go and how you did it with us below! We’d love to learn from you, and we’re sure fellow readers would too.
