Surprising Habits that Are Aging You

USING A STRAW TO DRINK ANYTHING

This may come as a shock but think about it: What do your lips do when you are drinking through a straw? You purse them. Do that many times and you’ll start to see lip lines and wrinkles after a while because of the repetitive muscle motion. These lines will become even more obvious as you age because the skin loosens. “Too much” means drinking about 15 beverages a day that way.

KEEPING YOUR HOME TOO HOT

The biggest temptation in the harmattan other than staying home all day, cuddled up and watching soap operas is cranking up the heat in the house. However, you will end up hurting yourself. The heater dries out the air indoors. That can lead to inflamed skin. An acceptable harmattan time temperature indoors is 70 degrees for the living room and at least 64 degrees for other rooms. Don’t go over 75 degrees though. 

Tip: Keep a glass of water in the room for some humidity.

NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER

Dehydrated skin gets dry, rough and itchy, making it very prone to wrinkles. Healthy skin usually has about 20 percent water. Dehydrated skin can drop to under 10. The skin then doesn’t retain moisture and the flow of nutrients is affected. If you don’t fix this problem and your body cells don’t get what they need to function properly, they will get damaged.

TOO MUCH EXERCISE

Too much of anything is bad for you. Exercise is no different. Doing a lot of high-intensity cardio exercises can backfire on you. Your body goes into stress mode, breaking the skin’s collagen, the protein that basically holds the body together, keeping the skin and muscles strong. No collagen means no protection from wrinkles. You need to do more strength training as you age to keep your muscles fit and to protect your skin from wrinkles.

SLEEPING ON ONE SIDE

A person spends most of the time while sleeping on one side. The best way to sleep is on your back because the skin on your face is not under any pressure. People can’t really control what positions they assume while in REM sleep but you can control the quality of your pillowcase. Go for a satin one for less impact.

WASHING YOUR FACE TOO OFTEN

Washing your face twice a day is more than enough, with an extra time before and after exercising. Soaps, especially the alkaline ones, can really dry your skin by removing all of its natural oils. This makes the skin itchy, very irritating and prone to breakouts. Wipes and cleansers are not a much better option. The oils in the skin are crucial for its health because they keep it supple.

YAWNING

Your eyes get watery when you yawn. This can lead to swelling and puffiness. The extra water in the skin weakens its flexibility with time. That stretches the skin under your eyes which leads to bags and, sooner rather than later, wrinkles. Take a nap every once in a while. It’s called “beauty sleep” for a reason.

BOREDOM

You have to keep your brain occupied with more than its very basic function of telling your heart to keep beating. It’s hard to get out of the cycle of inactivity once you go down that hole. It affects your daily routines, including exercising. Fewer workouts mean lower energy level, no flexibility and more chronic pain, which will make you feel, and eventually look, much older than you are.

WEARING HEADPHONES OFTEN

Elderly people are often labeled as having hearing problems. They usually come with age but sometimes they appear due to environmental factors. Wearing headphones for more than an hour a day can be a cause as well. It’s important to not overdo it and keep the volume down. Sound is delivered directly into the ear canal, very close to the eardrum. Over time that quickens the kind of hearing loss linked to age.

SLEEPING TOO MUCH

Studies have suggested that sleeping too much – usually more than eight hours a day – can have a negative effect and actually shorten your life. The problem is that when you’re sleeping, you’re not moving. Too much or too little ZZZ’s can cause cognitive aging, another study suggests.

POOR BLOOD CIRCULATION

Blood flow slows down as people get older. That’s one reason why the skin is not glowing anymore. Fix that minor but visible problem by exercising more or getting massages. Choose skin products that have vasodilators. These are medications that open blood vessels. Wash your skin with a scrub for a quick rubbing, which is just another form of a massage.

REPETITIVE FACIAL MOVEMENTS

Sipping a straw is a repetitive movement that puts stress on your skin, so is squinting when you don’t have your sunglasses on. Frowning or chewing gum is not a good idea either. All of these, when done over and over again, form small lines which become more visible as you get older.

MAKEUP

The only thing worse than having makeup on is not removing it before bed. The cosmetics you put on your face may contain moisturizers and anti-aging chemicals but they are not stopping wrinkles from forming prematurely. How you apply the makeup is very important. Don’t stretch the skin. Pulling it often will weaken taut skin. You have to remove whatever you applied on in order to clear the pores so your skin can breathe. Otherwise all kinds of pollutants are trapped under the skin speeding up the aging process.

RUBBING YOUR EYES

The most sensitive skin is around the eyes. Logically, any pressure you apply will make it susceptible to wrinkles. Rubbing them is a major cause for sagginess. Avoid touching the skin. Use eye drops if they get dry.

 STRESS

Stress causes, among many other things, inflammation which leads to premature skin aging. Studies have shown a connection between stress and an increase in telomerase. It is an enzyme that is vital to keeping cells healthy and young. The hormones released when we are under stress change our entire body chemistry, breaking it down little by little.

A word is out in the streets, now you know