4 Common Habits That Ruin Your Health and Drain Your Energy
Feeling tired all the time and overwhelmed? It’s a very common phenomenon of constant fatigue due to problems with friends and family, society, the economy, and much more. Issues tend to pile up but there are common habits that tend to ruin health and drain your energy.
Keep reading to find out what these common habits ruining your health are and what to do instead. Boost energy and mood with these simple fixes today!
4 Habits That Drain Your Energy
With small changes in your habits and routine, you can identify and change the habits that leave you drained. This will increase your health, overall wellbeing, and improve your energy levels. These are the four most common habits that drain your energy and reduce wellbeing. You can also find alternative things to do and small changes you can make that help a lot.
1. Staying Indoors
There are detrimental effects to not getting enough natural daylight. You are not meant to be nocturnal. Not getting enough sunlight disrupts your internal clock and messes with your natural sleep cycle. The light from your phone when you first wake up is not the same as natural light from the sun. This lack of sun leads to low energy and fatigue.
This impacts your physical and mental health, particularly because sunlight is needed to supply vitamin D to the body. Vitamin D is involved in almost every process in humans, from bones to blood. This vitamin acts as an activating agent and as a hormone, involved in repairs, growth, metabolism, production of chemicals, and much more. A deficiency in this vitamin has even been linked to mental health issues like depression.
What to do instead:
A really good habit to offset this would be to get sunlight as soon as you wake up. This is especially good if you wake up early in the day. Sunlight in the morning is much less dangerous and harsh than the sun in the afternoon.
This morning light exposure can help regulate your internal clock, giving you more energy during the day and making you feel tired and ready for rest at night. You can even look into natural therapy lamps that imitate natural sunlight.
2. Couch Potato-ing
Sitting for too long has negative impacts on your health, energy levels, and mental health. Sitting for too long is correlated to heart disease, obesity, and mental health issues. It also negatively affects posture and reduces blood flow, which leads to feeling tired and low energy constantly.
What to do instead:
Take regular breaks often. You can try out some easy stretches, light movement, or even walking around when you can. Physical activity like yoga or going for an evening walk can help improve mental, physical, and emotional health by offsetting the effects of sitting. Moving organically and naturally is one of the best fixes for this bad habit.
In many regions like the Mediterranean, there is an emphasis on easy movement, walking when you can, and moving your body in ways that feel natural. Have a desk job? Here are some desk exercises you can try out and easy fitness habits you can fit into your busy day.
3. Overthinking
Humans, as a species, are prone to overthinking. We tend to experience anxiety, worry, and stress more often than more positive emotions. This can be due to an evolutionary remnant that helps us stay aware and alert to our surroundings, increasing our chances of survival. In a society with no lions and bears to run from, we’re stuck worrying about bills, traffic, our school, our job, etc.
If you’ve ever found yourself replaying a conversation, stressing over an issue, or analyzing and regretting situations, well same. It’s a common, normal habit, but it can drain our energy. Overthinking in this way increases the risk of mental illnesses exponentially.
What to do instead:
Mindful practices can help offset this habit. Start meditating, breathing consciously and deeply, or using affirmations to help center yourself and reduce overthinking. Some find it helpful to journal and write out their thoughts. This can help declutter the mind and aim your thoughts toward finding a solution instead of focusing on a problem.
Another good habit to reduce the effects of overthinking is a simple shift in mindset; start focusing on what you can control as opposed to what you can’t. Here is a complete guide on how to practice that mentality!
4. Cluttering Space
Cluttered space tends to space our energy, leaving us overwhelmed and exhausted. This is because the brain is constantly pausing on items, analyzing, and subconsciously making sense of your surroundings. Studies have shown that clutter can reduce cognitive function and reduce mental health.
It also increases stress and reduces motivation, which causes you to lose more energy, which increases clutter, which leads to a horrible cycle.
What to do instead:
Take some time, maybe a little bit each day, to get rid of things you don’t need, sort through messes, and make sure your space is somewhere you want to be. Use the Marie Kondo techniques and ask yourself, does this spark joy?
If it does, keep it and put it somewhere nice, if it doesn’t, thank it for the time it spent with you can donate it or gift it. Try out new organization systems, get some cupboards or shelves, and sort out your space. Creating a calming and productive environment helps to reduce anxiety and stress while increasing energy and motivation.
The Takeaway
Some habits can help us while others wear you down and leave you exhausted. These common habits tend to drain our energy and ruin our health, so try to avoid doing them if possible. Instead, learn their alternative and cultivate good wellness habits that add to overall happiness and health.
Remember that health comes from within, so eat nutritious food, exercise daily, and care for your mental health. Daily habits become building blocks for overall health. Plus, try to take care of microbiota health. Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
