After a grueling day at work, you probably cannot wait to binge over a dozen of donuts while watching your favorite TV series or take a long bubble bath. You might think these are the best ways to treat yourself and loosen up but according to Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD , University of California, Riverside psychology professor and author of The Myths of Happiness, there are habits that you get used into but are not good for your health. "Some activities are stress-relieving immediately but harmful in the long term," Lyubomirsky stated.
Here are five of these unhealthy yet tempting interests that should be prevented in the long-run.
Binge Watching - A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that people who watch more than three hours of TV everyday have twice chances of dying at an early age compared to those who do not watch TV often. Results of another research study was shown at American Public Health Association's meeting that reveals how people who binge eat for two to more hours a day have greater risk on experiencing anxiety or depression. found a link between binge TV-watching, defined as 2 or more hours a day, and depression.
Going for a Bubble Bath- Doctors found how bubble baths and using of bath salts can cause yeast infection - a disease caused by fungi harming the vaginal area. "All of those things can be irritating to the vulva if you have a tendency for vulval irritation, which is quite common. Up to 70 percent of self-diagnosed yeast infections are not yeast infections at all, but either bacterial vaginosis or this kind of vulval irritation," Lauren F. Streicher, MD, gynecologist and clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago stated.
Overdoing Exercise- Too much of everything is always bad for your health, this includes over -exercising. According to a study released in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, people who often perform high-intensity exercises and high-mileage running die earlier at the same rate with those who do not exercise compared to those who exercise at a normal range.
Oversleeping- Lack of sleep is linked to a lot of severe health illnesses but getting more than 8 hours of sleep is also harmful for your health. Experts found that those who sleep for more than 9 hours every night have greater chances of experiencing depression, brain disorder, weight gain, diabetes, and heart ailment.
Visiting Social Media Page - Many people find surfing the net and "Facebooking" as one way to remove the stress of the day but according to Lyubomirsky , "On the one hand, those who are shy, anxious or have unique or rare interests or problems are able to find support communities on the web. On the other hand, at least one study has shown that checking Facebook posts actually makes people less happy-in part because they implicitly compare themselves and feel like their life is not as good or exciting as that of the people posting." Hence instead of decreasing your stress, you end up feeling less contended and more stressful after checking these sites.
