We all have unhealthy habits. However, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to stop them.

What many people fail to understand is that habits have a huge impact on our lives. While skipping breakfast or going late to bed doesn’t look like a big deal, these actions turn into serious problems when they become habits and can have a negative impact on our health.

While it’s impossible and unnecessary to stick to a perfect routine, it’s important to avoid doing things that are bad for you on a regular basis. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most common bad habits and learn how to overcome them:

1. Stress Eating

When experiencing negative emotions, people tend to overeat. This habit is very common and studies show that stressful situations activate systems related to metabolism, cognition, and reward.

Stress eating has nothing to do with being hungry. In fact, most of the time it occurs because of high-pressure situations or boredom. 

To quit this habit, try to practice mindful eating. Once the craving occurs, ask yourself if you are truly hungry. Analyze your feelings so that you can understand what determines you to overeat.  If you still feel the need to eat when dealing with a stressful situation, choose a healthy meal.  

2. Leaving Things to the Last Minute

Leaving things to the last minute is a very exhausting habit, as you’re under a lot of pressure to finish things on time. Plus, it can cause a lot of stress and anxiety, leaving you tired and unhappy.

The best way to avoid this is by planning ahead of time. For example, you can make a list of tasks at the beginning of each week. Identify your priorities and create a schedule. By doing things in advance, you will feel more relaxed and it will be much easier to manage your tasks when something unexpected comes up.

3. Not Getting Enough Sleep

If you’re constantly waking up feeling tired, it means that you are not getting enough sleep. 

We all do this from time to time. However, neglecting your sleep schedule on a regular basis can have serious consequences on your health. According to a Harvard Medical Study, high-quality sleep could be as important to your health and well-being as nutrition and exercise.

Plus, feeling tired directly impacts our mood and productivity. If you think you are getting more things done by cutting back on your sleeping hours, you might be wrong. 

Therefore, start treating sleep as a priority and try to sleep at least seven hours per night.  

4. Scrolling on Social Media before Sleep

This unhealthy habit goes hand in hand with not getting enough sleep. We are often wasting precious time scrolling down social media instead of going to bed. Doing this has a negative impact on your health. Not only is blue light harmful to your eyes, but it also suppresses melatonin, causing insomnia and tiredness.

Therefore, it’s time to put your phone away from you before going to sleep. Try doing something else instead. For example, you can read for half an hour each night before bed. Alternatively, you could practice meditation or try journaling. You will notice how your sleep will significantly improve once you quit the habit of using your smartphone every night.

5. Skipping Breakfast

You probably know already that breakfast is considered the most important meal and skipping it is an unhealthy habit. But did you know that doing this can also lead to unhealthy habits for the rest of the day?

To quit this habit, start by making time for breakfast. Try to wake up 10 minutes earlier. Also, if you’re in a rush, you can prepare breakfast the night before. Eat something you really like, so that it will get you excited to wake up and have breakfast. 

6. Comparing Yourself to Others

In the digital age, the temptation to constantly compare your life to others is stronger than ever. You constantly see images of perfect bodies, couples, and careers as we scroll down on your social media feeds. This can make you feel anxious, frustrated, and unhappy with your life.

So what can you do?

First of all, you need to understand that what you see on social media is different from real life. What you see there is a distorted view of reality. Everyone has flaws and bad days, it’s just that most people don’t share these parts of their lives on social media. 

Secondly, do some introspective work. Try to understand what about other people makes you feel bad and work on solving the problems you have with yourself. Try to make changes in your life that will boost your self-confidence.

7. Constantly Complaining

Complaining is definitely counterproductive. The main reason is that it trains your brain to see the negative aspects of every situation, so it’s only natural for people who constantly complain to feel bad all the time.

Whenever you catch yourself doing this, try to find something positive regarding the situation you are complaining about or try to come up with a plan that will make things better. This way, your brain will learn to see the good stuff and actively seek solutions to problems. 

Final Thoughts

When working on quitting unhealthy habits, don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember that it’s okay to make mistakes from time to time. Just make sure that you are constantly striving towards progress.

What are some of the habits you are trying to get rid of? Let me know in the comments below!