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49 Health Professionals Share The Worst Habits A Person Can Have For Long-Term Health
A healthy lifestyle is important if we want to live longer and age gracefully and with dignity. In order to do that, many people adopt certain habits. A 2024 survey conducted by Amway and Ipsos showed that the majority of Americans engage in healthy habits. 73% of the respondents said they try to drink enough fluids, 57% said they exercise regularly, 55% claimed to try to adhere to a regular sleep schedule, and 50% reported eating a healthy diet.
However, not every habit we adopt might benefit us in the long run. We might already know that too much social media or bottling up feelings is no good for us. Yet, recently, one netizen asked healthcare, fitness, nutrition, and mental health experts online: "What's one 'quiet habit' you see all the time that is secretly wrecking people's long-term health?" Read on to find out why keeping your wallet in your back pocket and using toothpaste with charcoal might be detrimental to your health!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Having an “all or nothing” mentality when it comes to habits. 5 minutes of exercise is always better than 0, one serving of fruits or vegetables is better than 0, etc. it doesn’t have to be big to be impactful.
Maikai 2 hours ago
Healthcare is a habit— not an occasional interest. Make it part of your life now or pay for it with your life later. It doesn’t take hours at a gym; it takes a few minutes here and there: consume nutritious foods, practice frequent movement snacks, practice creativity, build novel neural pathways, give your mind-body the resources to be resilient, learn about effective exercise from a reliable data source (not necessarily your dr alone or a 30-yo gym rat trainer, but more like a proven 50-yo that carries the wisdom of science and experience). TLDR: ONLY CARE FOR THE BODY PARTS YOU WANT TO KEEP.
RELATED:
#2
UK Based here, I've been working in Mental Health for the last 4 years. I'm noticing especially with the younger generations of adults (18- say 24), it's social media. Especially TikTok. I'm working in Inpatient Care and they share ideas on eating disorders, how to avoid taking their medication etc. It takes over their lives.
Zig Zag Wanderer 9 hours ago
I have always thought that social media is THE most destructive influence in modern society. I'm glad to have this validated. In addition, if you knew what bad characters are doing by infiltrating social media in most developed countries, you'd be terrified of the consequences.
#4
Loneliness. People underrate what a protective factor community is, especially when things get tough. Relationships may not solve everything, but it tends to make so many hardships more bearable, like grief, poverty, divorce, depression, etc. It also helps with accountability when it comes to taking care of ourselves physically (fitness, diet). Having someone check-in when it looks like there’s something going on, be it physical or mental, goes a long way. A positive network also tends to push us to try new things, like hobbies, fitness classes, etc. Avoiding discomfort usually feeds isolation, and bleeds into our health, fitness, and social lives.
Becky Samuel 11 hours ago
It really scares me how many people are deliberately isolating themselves (and seeming proud of it as though it's an accomplishment). The evidence is very clear on the impact that isolation has on a human being's mental and physical health and longevity.
#6
Strength training is just as important as cardio - your bones need more support as you get older. Smoking is the worst thing you can do. Please get all of your cancer screenings.
#7
Stopping a medication for a chronic condition when you think the condition is “fixed”. I see this shockingly often.
They stop their blood pressure meds because their blood pressure has been normal every time they check it. Yep, that was the meds doing their job, now your pressure is 200/110 and you’ve had a stroke.
They stop taking their insulin or metformin because their a1c is normal. Yep, that was the meds doing their job, now your blood glucose is 600 and you’re in DKA or HHS.
They stop their blood thinners because they had afib “a while ago” but haven’t had any issues from it. Yep, that’s because you were on blood thinners, now you’ve thrown a clot and had a stroke.
It’s a “quiet” decision because they usually think it’s a benign choice but my god does it cause complications. PLEASE talk to your healthcare team before making medication decisions.
Note: inability to afford or access medications is a whole other, incredibly serious issue, and that’s not what I’m talking about here. I have horror stories about that and it enrages me.
Peeka_Mimi 11 hours ago (edited)
DKA s***s @$$. I was taking my meds erratically because my daughter had cancer and I became debilitatingly depressed. I was not functioning at all. For reference my mom died of cancer so yeah. It wasn't intentional things just went to s**t.
#8
Not enough fiber. Fiber is a real magic bullet. Fiber cancels out sugar, regulates insulin, provides healthy gut biome which in turn helps brain functioning. It becomes a feedback loop in either direction so neglecting it results in fatigue, weight gain, inflammation, mental health problems, colon cancer, and diabetes .
#9
Some physical skills you should work to maintain as you age are:
-Being able to get up from a chair without using your hands.
-Being able to sit down on the floor and get up from the floor without help.
-Being able to stand on one foot.
-Being able to touch your toes (or as close as possible).
-Being able to pick things up off the floor.
-Being able to reach far overhead or far to the sides without loss of balance.
-Being able to walk backwards a few steps without loss of balance.
As long as you can do these things, your fall risk is incredibly low.
Related recommendation: Yoga is great. But if yoga is too hard for you, start with Tai Chi. It is gentler on the joints while still helping with flexibility, core strength, and balance.
Source: Occupational Therapy Professional.
ETA, since some people can’t actually touch their toes: Just get as close as you can.😊.
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I was compelled to get up and do each of the above tasks after reading this. Luckily, I was able to do them all. (P.S. Could someone please call me an ambulance?)
#10
I feel like I can predict who’s gonna get dementia based on how they respond to learning new things. We have a payment terminal in our office and there are patients who take one look at it and decide that they don’t understand how to use it before they even try it. It vaguely resembles a computer, but all they really have to do is type in their date of birth and their bill come up. That’s it. That is all they have to do. And they still want us to do it for them. If you start youngish with not challenging your problemsolving skills, you will pay for it later.
#11
Second hand trauma. My whole team is deeply impacted by it. We work with the homeless and so many of them have experienced absolutely horrifying things.
#12
I'm a massage therapist, and one of the smallest habits that causes big problems is keeping your wallet in your back pocket all the time. It's terrible for causing sciatica issues.
Switch it to your side pocket and make it a habit.
#13
I own a gym. What I have coined as the "gym shark era" of teenagers and younger people in the gym that will inject crazy amounts of anabolics into them, and they STILL dont even look like they have lifted weights. They are so obsessed with becoming IG or TikTok famous yet they cant be bothered to train hard or eat correctly to build muscle. They are going to pay for hard for it someday.
Maikai 2 hours ago
I fully sponsor and run a community gym/studio. Even when the $ is half the cost or free, I see that: 1. it’s difficult for folks to show up; 2. It’s hard for them to make it a frequent (5 to 10-minute) habit 3. It’s not easy to “feel” or “sense” what your mind-body is doing AND it’s not easy to drop social media and not be caught up in how things look
#14
When you are standing in a line, waiting for something, allow yourself to not be entertained. Don't reach for that phone. Sit with your thoughts, or talk to someone nearby. At Thanksgiving, everyone who wasn't watching TV was buried in their phone.
No conversation, and shallow interaction between people, if any.
And we wonder why people are feeling more lonely than ever?
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
I don't have a cell phone and have always been able to sit with a book, a newspaper, or a crossword puzzle. There are times I wish I had access to "all the knowledge in the world instantly at my fingertips," but it forces me to use my own memory or to look things up later and not have to scrounge around for a silly piece of info I don't really need. Mr. Multa Nocte has a cell phone, but our friends tease him for rarely using his and their favourite photo is of him actually using it once. We have it in the car in case of emergency, but luckily haven't had to use it for that yet.
#15
As a massage therapist I always, ALWAYS, see that when people take a vacation their health improves. I think a 'quiet habit' that is wrecking people's health is not taking time to rest, relax and refresh. People so often forsake downtime for continuing to grind through life and work. I know a lot of travel and selfcare is expensive, but taking the time to get away in anyway or even cultivating the vacation mindset can help people's health in real positive ways. Stop and smell the flowers. Book the trip. Book the self care session. Call out sick. Sleep. Eat. Laugh. Turn off your phone. Leave space for spontaneity.
#16
Eating when full. No, you don’t have to finish the plate. Stop. Eat it later or just don’t eat it.
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
But children are starving in India/China/Afghanistan/Ethiopia/etc./etc./etc.
#17
Not sleeping.
#18
Teeth whitening, bleaching specifically. It's not such a thing anymore, thank god. But repeated bleaching and abrasion (charcoal toothpaste etc.) erodes enamel which sets the stage for tooth decay and a resuling cascade of issues, which is strongly linked to cardiovascular disease.
#19
I work in a psychiatric hospital.
The amount of comparisons people make, whether upwards or downwards, healthy or toxic; it's just too much.
The amount of distractions we make to keep ourselves from having conversations and making peace with ourselves internally is staggering.
Anecdotally, people also fundamentally don't understand what forgiveness and acceptance are. They confuse forgiveness with reconciliation and confuse acceptance with liking something.
Forgiveness is to let go of anger; reconciliation is to rebuild relationships. Acceptance is to see things as they are without judgment, not as we want them to be.
#20
Sitting. People do way too much sitting. Sitting is a habit as routine as they come. Wake up. Sit in car to work. Sit at work. Sit in car going back home. Sit on couch. Bed.
This is a real routine for too many people.
Movement is medicine. .
Brian Droste 6 hours ago
Unfortunately, that is me. But I am retired so I probably sit way more than I should.
#21
PA here: people that are all on the carnivore diet for extended periods of time are going to have heart disease later, primarily those with family history of heart disease. When that happens, all of these influencers and pseudoscientists will not be held accountable and that’s unfortunate.
#22
Use hearing protection - as an audiologist.
You know the feeling you get of reduced hearing and stuffiness in the ears after a really loud concert? Yeah, that’s a temporary sensory hearing loss induced by noise exposure. It comes back let’s say 99%. But there’s still that 1%. It adds up over time. Then your hearing permanently sounds like that. Then you see me for hearing aids.
Stacy Carroll 4 hours ago
Many of my male friends refuse to wear hearing protection while doing carpentry. Such as running saws and lathes.
#23
As a therapist, cancelling plans, avoiding social gatherings that you’re not 100% interested in, living in neighborhoods with high privacy fences everywhere, etc. Basically doing anything else to “protect your peace” and shutting yourself off from others. Loneliness is incredibly damaging to all aspects of health.
Peeka_Mimi 11 hours ago
Living in solitude is the best thing I ever did for myself. I hang out with good friend, family, and my dogs/cats. I am not lonely I am gloriously alone.
#24
People telling themselves horrible things about themselves
"I cannot trust myself."
"I don't deserve good things."
"I am unlovable.".
Stardust she/her 5 hours ago
Sadly when the only people in your life who are supposed to protect you instead end up tearing you down for everything, you really don’t feel worthy of anything
#26
Neglecting stretching. Include yoga classes in your life if you can. At the very least, stretch on your own regularly. Seeing how many people (people who aren’t even that old) that can’t lay flat or raise their arms above their head is nuts.
#27
Is avoidance a habit? Because avoidance.
#28
Diet.
It's **always** diet.
From metabolic disorders ... to cardio/vascular issues ... to cancers ... to poor injury repair/recovery ... to frequent injury (connective-tissue joint/tendon/ligament) ... to skin conditions to gut conditions to stomach/GI issues to gall bladder/gallstones kidney stones ... to gout to brittle bones /osteo maladies ... to poor strength, poor endurance ... bad sleep and sleep-patterns/discipline ... to tooth decay ... to immune system issues ... to macula degeneration ... to ... virtually almost everything folks complain about in old age
It's **EXACTLY** what they told us all along. We are, in fact, "what we eat" and 97% of us are Junk.
Diet, folks.
It matters. .
Peeka_Mimi 11 hours ago
Yeah us poors have a very difficult time affording healthy food unfortunately.
#29
Holding their feelings in.
Child of the Stars 7 hours ago
Journaling has gone a looooong way for me. I don't mean just documenting my dad before bed. I started carrying a small journal in my backpack literally every where I go. When something's bothering me, I write. At the bus stop, waiting for a medical appointment, waiting for my kid to be released from school, any time I'm feeling big feelings and just sitting, I write. It's done some really huge help in managing my anxiety.
#31
Stress and lack of self care. I treat mostly pre partum and postpartum women, I get a lot of women beginning of menopause and post menopausal too. It is so hard for them to do self care because all of my moms put themselves last and it wrecks their body long term.
Child of the Stars 7 hours ago
And let's be clear: "self-care" does NOT have to include a 3-day hiking trip, a 3 hour bubble bath, or a stupidly expensive spa trip (although if that's your thing, do your thing!) It can simply mean spending time alone or making sure you take your meds or eat something. Self-care just means taking care of what your body and mind needs, it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.
#32
Not trying to learn about their chronic illness/not willing to make lifestyle changes so they end up hospitalized for the same things over and over and over. I’m a CNA in cardiac stepdown and we have a *lot* of patients who come in regularly for the same issues as their bodies deteriorate.
On one hand, I understand that health literacy and education are lacking in the US. But my unit has a solid education program in multiple different languages. I also see nurses explaining the same things repeatedly, and I see patients arguing during each of their admissions. I’m also not talking about people who can’t afford meds or can’t access healthy food/cook for themselves, etc.
I still have empathy for them because their situations are truly unfortunate. Nobody wants to have their limbs slowly amputated piece by piece due to diabetes, or be bedridden due to deconditioning before they’re even 60.
Seriously, when you get diagnosed with a chronic illness, read about it and do your best to follow your doctor’s instructions. It might be a hard adjustment but your life can still be fulfilling, especially now with all of the available treatments for a lot of these common problems.
#33
Cutting people out of their life the minute someone makes a mistake. Is it a pattern? Sure cut them out. Is it particularly egregious? Sure, cut them out. But “cutting toxic people out of my life” too often means jettisoning people who made one small mistake or who may be good friends still in area A even if you no longer trust them in area B. And no one will ever be a perfect friend, so you are going to end up burning all your bridges.
Multa Nocte 4 hours ago
From what I have seen from the Reddit columns that BP has such a bad habit of posting here ad nauseam, all you have to do when posting there is to say that the wind was blowing and half of Reddit will tell you to ditch your partner/family/pet/etc.
#34
Not flossing. Oral bacteria and inflammation can contribute to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes complications, and so much more.
#35
Not sure if it's a 'quiet habit,' but I have seen too many people absolutely ignore the side effects of GLP1s. They think it's good to be nauseous all the time. One patient had her gallbladder removed and wanted to know how soon she could get back on the med. I know obesity can be the precursor of a lot of chronic conditions, but I am concerned that people are using these instead of trying diet and exercise first, and then along with the medication to lose weight. Many also don't realize, once they stop the medicine, the weight will come back.
Again, not knocking anyone for taking them, because I know losing weight can be a miserable battle. But they genuinely concern me.
#36
Go in for your skin checks, colonoscopies, etc, wear sunscreen, and don’t wait until that weird lump is the size of a ping pong ball before you finally get it looked at.
#37
As a therapist, the things your think to and about yourself *really do* shape your reality. I know, it doesn’t feel comfy or true to think kinder or more accurate things about yourself, but it’s the uncomfiness of growth, which I think is far preferable to the pain of being stuck in a toxic mind.
#38
Use of scented products. Synthetic scents are neurotoxins. An increasing amount of evidence links them to depression and anxiety.
#39
Sitting around and not moving or working out your brain.
Pagan squirrel 4 hours ago
I better put this down and stop reading bored panda! I'll make tea and do some stretches, maybe a sudoku!
#40
Context: I work for government healthcare, 90% of the treatments are free
What I see the most in dentistry is that people wait until they have unbearable pain. Issues that would be solved within 15 minutes if they had come the first time they felt uncomfortable or a slight bit of pain, end up costing them weeks and sometimes having to be referred to a private clinic for treatment. I wish we had a follow up mechanism in place like they do in Europe, then small issues could be solved without getting so much bigger and snowballing.
Child of the Stars 7 hours ago
I don't know where in the US this person is that 90% of dental treatments are free, but where I'm at, if you're an adult on Medicaid, it covers an extraction and nothing else. No cleanings, no fillings, no dentures, no root canals. Just extractions.
#41
I work in fitness, and I'd say bad posture. One thing in your body out of alignment causes so many injuries and pains. Please, learn what to do and do it, it will save you a world of hurt, and fix things you didn't even know could be fixed.
#42
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is succumbing to social pressure too much.
At least in the US, you can't be a passive "go with the flow" type person and be healthy. You have to learn to say "no" to the coworkers who insist that you have another office breakroom donut. You have to ignore family who make fun of you for making time to work out. You have to tune out all the advertisements telling you to eat greasy, salty, sugary, addictive foods. You have to be OK with people's negative reactions when you tell them you walk/ride your bike everywhere. You also have to be strong enough to resist caving into someone's insistence that you have another drink or smoke...and then have the courage to stop associating with them if they give you a hard time.
It is hard to be a people-pleaser and be healthy. People will have you stressed out of your mind if you let them. You have to say "no" to some requests and invitations for the sake of your sanity. And you also have to learn how not to care about every single person and prioritize yourself. Yes, you will hurt somebody's feelings if you don't whatever it is they want you to do. But you have every right not to literally break your back moving furniture for someone who is too cheap to hire a mover. You can help someone without sacrificing your body and mind for them.
#43
Expecting other people and/or professionals to do all the work for you.
Want to lose weight, but don't want to eat better or exercise. Want to feel better mentally, but don't want to put in the work in therapy or within yourself. Instead just put your hand out and ask for the (assumed) magic pill. Still don't feel better or make progress. Resent and blame the provider or clinician. Go to the next one. Rinse and repeat.
People vastly underestimate their own power and abilities when it comes to what they can do and what they are capable of. A professional is meant to guide you in the right direction of what you yourself can do, for the most part. Expecting them to fix you with zero effort on your part is an attitude doomed for failure. That is unfortunately super prevalent from what I've seen in both the medical and mental health fields.
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 4 hours ago
I would love to lose weight, but it's really difficult when pain stops you exercising. Most of us horrible fat people aren't fat by choice.
#44
Never drinking water, its always coffee. energy drinks, or alcohol.
Zig Zag Wanderer 9 hours ago
I drink loads of water. It's much better when it's cooked with barley malt, boiled with hops, and fermented for a couple of weeks.
#45
“Moderation.”
People dont own what a baseline is. For instance 5gm and up of sugar is construed as a hepatotoxin. Body sees it as so and insulin will remove from serum into tissue and cells.
From that what is the fair dose if moderation is the modicum?
Alcohol is a Class 1 carcinogen. What dose is moderate there [none].
Excellent question.
Zig Zag Wanderer 8 hours ago (edited)
What dose is moderate for alcohol? None, you say? Sorry to burst your bubble, but most of us actually create alcohol in our digestion naturally. Some people even create too much and are constantly drunk. It's part of us.
#46
Relying on the people in healthcare to be in charge of your health. It's your health, take charge of YOUR health. Just because the records are there doesn't mean they think about you all the time, you're not their only patient. I work in pharmacy - retail for 10 years, and the number of times someone expected us to notify them when they were out of refills blew my mind. Read the label on your bottle and don't pour your new bottle into the old bottle. Also keep your appointments because doctors won't just keep prescribing meds if you stop going to them. If people do these simple things it will prevent a lot of the phone calls pharmacies get.
#47
Fad dieting, which wrecks your metabolism and can cause long term health issues including intolerance to foods that you wouldn't have been intolerant to otherwise.
Also, please remember to drink water after your Gatorade when exercising or being active in extreme heat. Sports drinks only HELP with hydration, if you aren't drinking water you're still in danger of dehydration.
PandaPadi 8 hours ago
I tried calorie deficit as well as adding more exercises. I used to have a quite balanced diet but was having too much in quantity and little to no exercises. Now I have everything I used to have but in lesser amounts and make sure to exercise everyday. Only things I try to avoid are sugar- sugary food/drinks and too much oily food. Haven't cut them completely, I do have my cravings at time. I lost considerable amount of weight without feeling deprived of food or sad that the food is bland.
#48
I know obesity seems obvious, but there are a lot of obese people who are active and agile and in good health otherwise. However, when you get older and get sick being bedbound and overweight makes getting better so much more difficult.
Becky Samuel 11 hours ago
Underweight when you're older is just as bad. There's plenty of evidence that once you're in middle age a little extra weight is healthier than being skinny.
#49
Not going to the doctor because it’s “not that bad”. When I ask how long you’ve had — pain or — lesion and the patient responds 10+ years?! Well now we’re in stage two/three when this should’ve been avoidable all together.
Becky Samuel 11 hours ago
We literally had a list with doctors complaining about patients coming to them with pains, moles etc. a couple of days ago. In the UK doctors surgeries are overwhelmed and getting an appointment can be a nightmare. Doctors seem to live in a weird state of cognitive dissonance about the messages they send compared to what they actually say to us face to face.
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