Let’s
be honest: From the moment we’re born, we’re all dying just as we’re
living. But certain mundane things we do every day may actually be
helping us get there faster. None of this means we should even try to
eliminate these behaviors from our lives entirely, but it’s proof that
overdoing anything, even when seemingly innocuous, can have serious
impacts on our health. Below we’ve rounded up 11 everyday things you’re
probably doing that could potentially shorten your lifespan.
1. You’re having a hard time finding love.
Having a difficult time finding a mate can shave off months of your
life, while being single for prolonged periods of time could cost you a
whole decade. A study found that communities with gender ratios skewing
significantly more male or female caused the minority sex to have
shorter lifespans. Even when exposed to short time frames of
competition, such as attending a high school entirely of one gender,
participants were found to have generally shorter lives.
On top of
all this, another study found that never getting married could increase
risk of death over a lifetime by 32 percent, and led to the previously
mentioned loss of a decade.
2. You’re sitting down for more than a few hours every day.
Two whole years of your life could be cut just from sitting more than
three hours a day. Australian researchers found that even regular
exercise couldn’t deter the potential negative effects of sitting for
long stretches of time. Another study published in the JAMA Internal
Medicine found that sitting for more than 11 hours a day increased the
risk of death by 40 percent over the next three years, compared to
sitting for under four hours a day. Time to get that stand-up desk.
3. No Friends.
People with weak social connections were found to die at much higher
rates than their counterparts, according to research. The same
researchers found that prolonged loneliness could be as bad for your
lifespan as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
On top of all this, elderly
people with large circles of friends were found to be 22 percent less
likely to die over a tested study period, and those social connections
generally promote brain health in aging brains.
4. You’re vegging out in front of your TV.
Watching just two hours of television a day can lead to an increased
risk of premature death, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to
Harvard researchers. The negative effects of watching television seem
to overlap with the potential negative effects of sitting too much, but
watching television seems to make the negative effects of sitting even
worse. According to the New York Times, “every single hour of television
watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer’s life expectancy by
21.8 minutes.”
5. You’re eating too much unhealthy food.
Perhaps
this sounds obvious, but the truth is that so many of us continue to do
it. As far as what foods to especially avoid, eating red meat seems to
shorten life expectancy by as much as 20 percent when eating extra
portions.
6. You’re still looking for a job.
Being unemployed
can increase a person’s risk of premature death by 63 percent. Other
more specific studies found that “the two factors most strongly
associated with higher death rates were smoking and not having a job.”
Another found that older people who lost their jobs during the recession
could have seen their lifespan decrease by as many as three years.
7. You’re dealing with a long commute.
Commutes of about an hour have been found to increase stress and have
been linked to the same negative effects as sitting. Long commutes also
reduce the likelihood that individuals will consistently participate in
health related activities. The greatest lifespan risk is with female
commuters, who were found to have significantly shorter lifespans after
consistently commuting for 31 miles or more. The cause for the dip in
female life expectancies has been the topic of much speculation lately,
but while the Swedish research was able to link commuting to obesity,
insomnia and a higher rate of divorce, it wasn’t able to pinpoint why
female mortality rates are higher.
8. You’re having a dry-spell.
(Click to read more)
www.ncrmonline.org
1. You’re having a hard time finding love.
Having a difficult time finding a mate can shave off months of your life, while being single for prolonged periods of time could cost you a whole decade. A study found that communities with gender ratios skewing significantly more male or female caused the minority sex to have shorter lifespans. Even when exposed to short time frames of competition, such as attending a high school entirely of one gender, participants were found to have generally shorter lives.
On top of all this, another study found that never getting married could increase risk of death over a lifetime by 32 percent, and led to the previously mentioned loss of a decade.
2. You’re sitting down for more than a few hours every day.
Two whole years of your life could be cut just from sitting more than three hours a day. Australian researchers found that even regular exercise couldn’t deter the potential negative effects of sitting for long stretches of time. Another study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine found that sitting for more than 11 hours a day increased the risk of death by 40 percent over the next three years, compared to sitting for under four hours a day. Time to get that stand-up desk.
3. No Friends.
People with weak social connections were found to die at much higher rates than their counterparts, according to research. The same researchers found that prolonged loneliness could be as bad for your lifespan as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
On top of all this, elderly people with large circles of friends were found to be 22 percent less likely to die over a tested study period, and those social connections generally promote brain health in aging brains.
4. You’re vegging out in front of your TV.
Watching just two hours of television a day can lead to an increased risk of premature death, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, according to Harvard researchers. The negative effects of watching television seem to overlap with the potential negative effects of sitting too much, but watching television seems to make the negative effects of sitting even worse. According to the New York Times, “every single hour of television watched after the age of 25 reduces the viewer’s life expectancy by 21.8 minutes.”
5. You’re eating too much unhealthy food.
Perhaps this sounds obvious, but the truth is that so many of us continue to do it. As far as what foods to especially avoid, eating red meat seems to shorten life expectancy by as much as 20 percent when eating extra portions.
6. You’re still looking for a job.
Being unemployed can increase a person’s risk of premature death by 63 percent. Other more specific studies found that “the two factors most strongly associated with higher death rates were smoking and not having a job.” Another found that older people who lost their jobs during the recession could have seen their lifespan decrease by as many as three years.
7. You’re dealing with a long commute.
Commutes of about an hour have been found to increase stress and have been linked to the same negative effects as sitting. Long commutes also reduce the likelihood that individuals will consistently participate in health related activities. The greatest lifespan risk is with female commuters, who were found to have significantly shorter lifespans after consistently commuting for 31 miles or more. The cause for the dip in female life expectancies has been the topic of much speculation lately, but while the Swedish research was able to link commuting to obesity, insomnia and a higher rate of divorce, it wasn’t able to pinpoint why female mortality rates are higher.
8. You’re having a dry-spell.
(Click to read more)
www.ncrmonline.org
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