Unhealthy Habits You Might Be Unknowingly Making

From eating healthy to getting regular exercise, these are all important habits that we should strive for – but there are also some unhealthy habits you might be making without even realizing it. Below, Dr. Ali Ghahary, a family physician in Vancouver, shares some of the most common unhealthy habits that we make.

Skipping Meals

Breakfast, especially, is the most important meal of the day. Many breakfast foods contain protein and fibre which helps keep your appetite in check throughout the day. Breakfast also gives your body the fuel it needs to feel energized and get tasks done efficiently. Some individuals also think that replacing breakfast with fruit smoothies is a healthier alternative. However, this isn’t the case. While fruit is certainly good to incorporate into your diet, many fruit smoothies consist of nothing but fruit, water, and milk. Consuming large amounts of fruit can also increase your blood sugar levels, which can be especially dangerous if you are diabetic. Based on these facts, Dr. Ali Ghahary suggests eating three well-balanced meals during the day, as it will be much better for your health. You can find some healthy grocery shopping tips from Dr. Ali Ghahary by clicking here.

Sleeping In

For those who work or go to school, you probably have your alarm clock set to wake you up at the same time each morning – while on weekends you’re probably more inclined to want to sleep in. While you certainly don’t have to get up at 5 AM on a day where you have nothing to do, sleeping in too late can actually disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm and throw off your routine. You might even feel more tired during the school/work week as a result. To avoid this, make sure you don’t sleep in too late and still have your alarm set to wake you up at a specific time on weekends, just like you would weekdays.

High Impact Exercise

Dr. Ali Ghahary strongly advises patients to engage in regular physical activity – whether it’s waking, jogging, doing yoga, taking fitness classes, or swimming. However, for those who are new to exercise or have underlying health conditions, you should be careful. As they say, ‘less is more’. When it comes to fitness classes, you might not be familiar with certain stretches or moves, so always make sure you’re joining a class for beginners before jumping into the intermediate stuff. You don’t need to engage in strenuous physical activity in order to be healthy.

Drinking Tea Before Bed

Dr. Ali Ghahary recently touched on the health benefits of drinking tea – and while it contains as much as 50% less caffeine than coffee, even a trace amount can be enough to keep you awake, tossing and turning at night, and having an overall terrible sleep – or maybe no sleep at all. If you insist on drinking tea before bed, you should avoid green tea, black tea and oolong tea, as they contain the highest caffeine content. Instead, try switching to chamomile. It is naturally caffeine-free and has been used as a natural sleep remedy for decades.

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