If you’re like most people, you want to retain a youthful appearance for as long as possible. Fortunately, a large part of how you look is determined by your daily habits. To prevent premature signs of aging, make sure that you’re avoiding these habits that age you the fastest.
1. Smoking
Besides all the heart and lung disease risks that come with smoking, it’s also bad for your skin. When you smoke, you’re activating enzymes that reduce your skin’s elasticity, resulting in wrinkles.
2. Insufficient Sleep
Staying up all night or only catching a few hours of sleep may be alright when you’re cramming for college midterms, but in the long run, it’s going to take its toll on your appearance. Depriving yourself of much-needed sleep will lead to that tired look with bags under the eyes and a pale skin tone. Try herbal tea to make sure get plenty of sleep! There’s a reason they call it beauty sleep, and if you want to avoid premature aging, aim for 7 to 8 hours per night.
3. Unhealthy Eating Habits
What you eat is one of the biggest factors in your overall health. Not only will eating junk food frequently make you unhealthy, it will also age you considerably, giving you a drawn-out complexion and wrinkles. Give your skin a healthy glow by eating a generous amount of fruits and vegetables every day. Make sure you’re also getting enough fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, which you can get through fish or in supplement form.
4. Losing Weight Quickly
While it’s great to eat healthy, crash dieting is not the way to go. Because you’re not giving your body enough time to adjust to the weight loss, you can end up with loose, sagging skin and wrinkles. You’re also likely to be irritable and stressed while you crash diet. If you’re going to lose weight, take it slow, which means stick to 1 or 2 pounds per week. Now, when you first start a new diet or exercise routine, you may lose more than this for the first week or two. That’s completely normal, but only during that initial period.
5. Not Paying Attention to Air Quality
Here’s one many people overlook – the quality of the air in their homes. When you change your air filters consistently, the air will keep the moisture in your skin to help you keep a youthful appearance. Considering how much time you probably spend at home, the air quality there can have a significant impact on how you look. You can have air filters delivered at set intervals so you always know when to change them.
6. Too Much Sun
Getting some sun feels great and can lead to a nice golden-brown tan, but over the long-term, sun exposure can harm your skin. It causes wrinkles, weakens skin cells and can result in a leathery look. When you go out into the sun, make sure to wear sunscreen that’s at least SPF 30. If you want to tan, it’s better to use a self-tanning lotion.
7. Stress
Stress and anger raise your cortisol levels, and this hormone can cause several negative health effects, including weight gain and high blood pressure. When you’re stressed, you’re also likely to frown more, causing forehead wrinkles. To relieve stress, take 5 to 10 minutes to decompress and relax when you start feeling agitated. You may also want to try yoga classes.
Your habits play a major role in how quickly you show signs of aging. Make sure that you’re practicing the right habits and avoiding the bad ones to stay looking youthful and healthy.
What habits have you tried to change or have changed to help you age slower?
Do you have tips that you that has helped you live a healthy lifestyle and feel younger?
If so please live your suggestions in the comment section!!!
