Nobody wants to look older than they actually are. Yet we’re probably still doing little things that can make us look older. Look over the list of 15 habits that can prematurely age you here. Consider what things you may want to change to keep from adding more wrinkles to your skin.
1. Night owl
Even for the young, skipping sleep isn’t healthy. Skipping sleep will add to the dark circles and bags under your eyes, making you look even older.
2. Bitterness
Holding onto old hurts never damages the person who wronged you, but it will harm you. According to experts, the bitterness that grows from not forgiving past wrongs increases your cortisol output, which decreases your sleep – resulting in bags and circles.
3. Stressing Out
Stress takes its toll on the body, increasing your blood pressure and reducing your brain function. Prevention recommends finding ways to manage your stress so you don’t feel old before your time.
4. Eating Sugar Over
Dessert used to be a luxury, but today, people want to eat it all the time. Some researches show that too much sugar creates problems as you get older. It can cause diabetes, acne, and wrinkles. You may want to consider passing on the dessert on occasion.
5. No fat Diet
The no-fat/low-fat fad is another premature ager. The issue is that you may be forgetting your body needs good omega-3 fats and monosaturated fats. Prevention says to be sure to take in the healthy fats even as you cut the unhealthy ones.
6. Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Although a glass of red wine is supposed to be good for your heart, too much alcohol can be bad for your overall health. If you don’t want to prematurely age yourself, men should limit themselves to one to two drinks a day, and ladies to one drink a day.
7. Smoking
With all the warnings that are put out today, people are aware of the dangers of smoking. It makes your skin look older; affects your voice, teeth, and nails; and causes premature death. If you are a smoker, the sooner you quit, the longer your life expectancy will be.
8. Avoiding Exercise
If you’re skipping the gym on a regular basis, you’re doing yourself a serious disservice on the aging front. Exercising on a regular basis not only boosts circulation, making your skin look more healthy and youthful, increasing your muscle tone also helps prevent skin from sagging.
9. Drinking Coffee On A Regular
A little coffee may help you start your day with some extra energy, but overdoing it can easily age you. The combination of coffee’s dehydrating effect plus its tendency to stain teeth can both take a serious toll on your looks, making you look years older than you actually are.
10. Not Smiling
That permanent scowl you’ve been wearing is doing more than just making other people avoid you: it’s making you look older, too. In fact, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin found that study participants judged individuals shown smiling to be younger than their actual age,
11. Use iPods With Loud Volume
Loud noises will eventually cause hearing loss. In this technological age, people love to wear headphones with their iPods and MP3s. To keep from being the old granny that says, “Eh? What’s that, Sonny?” Prevention recommends keeping the volume as low as possible on your devices and saving your hearing.
12. Not Standing Up Straight
That minor slouch now could be a major giveaway about your age. Poor posture can make you look significantly older—as well as heavier than you actually are—so if you want to shave a few years off your appearance, it’s time to straighten up.
13. Sitting
Sitting is the silent killer. According to ABC NEWS, unless you want to add 10 to 13 years to your life, make a point to get up and move around regularly. Don’t be satisfied with sitting all day at work and all night when you get home.
14. Tanning
Another no-no is sitting out to tan. Everyone knows that tanning is bad for the skin and makes you look old prematurely. You faithfully put on your makeup or face lotion with sunscreen in it. The question is how well you take care of the rest of your body. Don’t forget that your arms and hands see just as much, or more, sun than your face.
15. Spending Too Much Time Staring At Screens
Those hours spent staring at your phone or computer are making you look more than a little worse for wear. In addition to the squinting and neck-craning that often accompanies our screen habits—both of which can promote wrinkles. Scientists have found that the blue light emitted from screens can actually cause skin pigmentation that makes us look older, too.
You don’t have to just give up and accept that wrinkles are a part of life. Check over what you’re doing and see what changes need to be made. A few little adjustments may add years to your life.
