Even if some people don’t want to admit it, but every single person on the planet has a bad habit or two. Many of our negative habits are somehow implemented into our everyday doings and very often we fail to notice them since they bring us short pleasures. However, those bad habits can affect your life innumerable ways and have an unfortunate impact on your health. Both physically and mentally.
Many habits arise simply out of boredom or stress. What is more, habits cannot be altered overnight, you need to start incorporating healthier alternatives as soon as possible in order to change your wellbeing and health. You only need to make a conscious decision about breaking those bad habits to boost up your lifestyle and improve your health. Here are five alternatives to some of the most tedious bad habits that will utterly change your life.
1. Choose healthy snacks over junk food
More and more people get entangled in the sweet and savory street food. Little do they notice that with time they got obsessed by eating burgers, pizzas, and kebabs uncontrollably. Let’s face it, junk food is delicious but extremely harmful to our bodies. There are innumerable diseases triggered by this bad habit of eating junk food like diabetes and weight gain. Switching to healthier alternatives doesn’t mean you are going to eat less delicious foods, on the contrary, many healthier snacking versions are actually quite tasty. Instead of fast food try homemade burgers or veggie pizza, go for banana oatmeal instead of chocolate, try snacking nuts like almonds and cashews instead of crisps. Cut fresh fruit and vegetables and nibble on them when you are watching your favorite series.
2. Choose cycling over driving
If you can’t seem to find time for some essential exercising, or you are not much of a sporty type, one new habit that you can implement is riding a bike instead of driving a car all the time. This is a major life-changer. Firstly, when you are trapped in a car for a minimum of two hours on the commute to work and back, you are indoors, feeling agitated due to traffic, lacking fresh air, all of which lead to stress and discomfort. If you were to switch to cycling to work instead of driving a car, you will be more physically active which will immediately energize you, boost your mental and physical health, and make you feel happier and less nervous. What more can a person ask for? Well, by cycling whenever you can instead of driving a car, you will be out on the fresh air will is natural and the best stress reliever, therefore your health automatically benefits.
3. Choose e-cigarettes over regular ones
Smoking cigarettes is bad for your health, period. Many people are addicted to this bad habit, and smoking cigarettes the hardest one to quit or alter, since it gives people a temporary relief that comes immediately. But, it is nicotine and tar in the cigarettes that is dangerous to our bodies. This toxic chemical penetrates easily into our organism and can cause lung cancer. However, it can be really hard to completely quit smoking cigarettes, especially when seeing other people smoking on the break at work or in the pub. Try a better and healthier version instead, vaping or smoking e-cigarettes. Vaping allows you to get a specific amount of nicotine without inhaling dangerous toxins. Unlike the smoke of a traditional tobacco cigarette, most e-liquids produce vapor with a pleasant odor which is also great for the environment. For instance, Hoopers Vapour has a wide selection of e-juice and flavors, so you can enjoy your new habit by enlivening all your senses while keeping an eye on your health.
4. Choose nature over technology
We cannot help being surrounded and overwhelmed with technology. It has become perfectly normal to carry a telephone or some other gadget at all times. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to use them non-stop. Addiction to mobile phones, tablets, and TVs can bring serious health consequences. From obesity to stress and nervousness which later lead to other potentially harmful health issues. A healthier alternative is to go out to nature as often as possible. You can carry your phone with you, but you should be used only when it becomes highly necessary. So, no checking your Instagram or Facebook update, no looking at the latest sports news, an no watching funny video clips. Go for a stroll around the park, lakeside or riverbank, go hiking to the mountains, or simply have a picnic with friends and family. Even sitting out on the terrace and reading a book on fresh air is far healthier than watching television.
5. Choose decaffeinated coffee over caffeinated drinks
We all love a freshly brewed cup of coffee early in the morning to uplift our spirit. But, just like with many other things, too much coffee or drinking too much caffeine can be hazardous to our health. Caffeine is another addictive substance that increases your heart rate, skyrocket your blood pressure, and stains your teeth. If you identify the negative cues of this bad habit, like if you have been drinking 4 cups of coffee per day and still feeling tired and stressed, then you had better substitute it with a positive, healthier alternative. That’s right, you don’t need to ditch your favorite morning drink but simply replace it. For those people who adore a taste of coffee and simply can’t get enough of it, the healthier alternative is decaffeinated coffee. Bad habits provide some type of benefit in your life, and it can be very hard to eliminate them. So, replacing coffee with decaffeinated one will create a new, healthier habit that has much more positive benefits to health.
Stay open-minded, surround yourself with people who live the way you want to live, cut out as many triggers as possible and be persisted and determined. Only with mindful thinking and a positive attitude can you kick out the bad habits and replace them with healthier alternatives.