Most people dread aging. It isn’t just about getting wrinkles on the skin. Aging brings
with it several health challenges like cataracts, joint pain, imperfect memory,
and fatigue. We all have to face this transformation at some point in our lives.
But can you delay it? Or worse, are you somehow contributing
to premature aging? It’s no secret that your lifestyle has a deep impact on your health.
You might be unknowingly partaking in habits that accelerate aging without notice. In today’s video,
we are going to discuss this in detail. Watch until the end.
1. Lack of sleep Late-night outings,
scrolling through Instagram while lying in bed, and binge-watching movies until the wee hours of
the morning—all seem like fun activities. There’s no harm in doing all of these once in a while.
But if you have a habit of staying awake past midnight, we have bad news for you.
Lack of sleep can make you age faster. It is very important to get an adequate
amount of sleep every night. Experts recommend that you sleep for at least seven hours every day.
There are various health issues that can arise if you don’t get enough sleep. You’ll
fall prey to diseases and age a lot faster. A study was conducted to see how much impact
one night of sleep deprivation would have on the aging process. The results showed that getting
insufficient sleep for a day makes the cells in older adults age even faster. While at the outset
it might not look like a big deal, this will end up causing diseases such as heart issues.
When you don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis,
your body produces a lot more cortisol. It is a stress hormone that causes damage
to the collagen. Wondering what collagen has to do with aging?
Well, collagen is the primary building block of your skin, ligaments, tendons, muscles,
and connective tissues. Collagen makes your skin supple and healthy.
So now you can think: what would happen if collagen was harmed?
Your skin would become loose and wrinkled, which would make you look much older.
Maybe the next time you plan on staying up late,
think about what you’re doing to your health and skin. Sleep early and stay young!
2. Smoking Do you smoke?
If you do, be prepared to age a lot faster. Smoking tobacco has a major impact on a
variety of your organs. It has toxins that even affect the largest organ in your body,
which is the skin. Smoking frequently can lead to wrinkles, making you appear much older.
People who smoke have less collagen in their skin. When there is not enough collagen,
the skin tends to not be as elastic as a younger person would have. You also get
wrinkles a lot easier without enough collage. A study was conducted among 79 pairs of twins.
The results showed that siblings who smoked had more wrinkles, jowls,
and eyelid skin redundancy compared with their counterparts. These are all signs of aging.
Cigarettes usually come with tar as well. Your lips would be the first to
be impacted when you smoke cigarettes, as they come into contact the most.
Additionally, the first areas of your body to exhibit smoking-related aging are your lips.
Other signs of aging that occur due to smoking are yellowing of the fingers and sagging skin,
especially around the jaws. You might also have dark spots on your face. In one study, it was
observed that people who smoked had higher amounts of melanin compared with those who did not.
3. Too much sugar Got a sweet tooth?
Who doesn’t? It’s almost impossible to say
no to cakes, ice cream, and donuts. Burgers and pizzas sound incomplete without soda.
But did you know all of these could be contributing to making you look older?
Your choice of food is also one of the reasons you age faster. If the food you eat has a decent
amount of refined sugar, your skin will be the most affected. You will have wrinkles,
and your skin’s elasticity will be lost. Still unsure?
Maybe you need to know about the study that was conducted to see the impact of sugar on the skin.
The results showed excess sugar prevents collagen from repairing.
This ends up causing problems with the firmness of your skin and making you look older.
Glucose and fructose are the most common forms of sugar that we take in through our food.
These sugars interact with the skin’s protein. It causes the production of advanced glycation
end-products (AGEs), which result in wrinkles. AGEs are also produced when you have a diet
that’s high in carbs. These AGEs can cause damage to collagen and elastin. Without them,
your skin begins to sag, and you will no longer be able to maintain a youthful appearance.
If you want to keep flaunting young and healthy skin, you should incorporate more
fruits and vegetables into your diet. Foods such as eggs and chicken are high in collagen.
Wondering what other collagen-rich foods you can eat every day? You
can watch this video on 9 Collagen-Boosting Superfoods to Make Your Skin Look Younger!
4. Sun protection People who go out a
lot in the sun need to wear sun protection. The UV rays from the sun are harmful to your skin.
The UV rays you get from the sun are of two types: UVA and UVB. The UVA rays go deep into
your skin and cause damage to your collagen. UVB rays are responsible for causing skin burns.
You will need to wear high-quality sunscreen if you go out in the sun regularly. Of course,
this does not mean you use any sunscreen you find. Instead, you will need a broad-spectrum
sunscreen that has an SPF count of at least 15. Experts suggest that sunscreens with 15 SPF can
filter about 93% of UVB rays. As you increase the SPF levels, the protection increases.
Those who use sunscreen with SPF 100 will see the UVB rays filtered by 99%.
If you want to protect your skin from any damage, it is best to use sunscreen daily. You should put
it on even if there are clouds outside. Doing so would help you keep your skin young and healthy.
5. Alcohol abuse
A glass of wine is a perfect way to relax and unwind at the end of the day. But if you
drink indiscriminately, you’re likely to invite several health problems and age a lot faster.
There are pros and cons to drinking alcohol. It more or less depends
on how much alcohol you drink, which determines whether it’s working for you.
If you are prone to alcohol abuse, then you are more than likely to face health and aging issues.
A study was conducted among nearly 3,300 women to see the effects of alcohol on facial aging.
The results showed that those who consumed heavy amounts of alcohol showed visible signs of aging.
These included puffy eyes, shrinking blood vessels, and facial lines.
Another study was conducted on data related to around 245,000
people in the UK to see how alcohol impacts aging. The subjects were between the ages of 40 and 69.
About 93% of the people were classified as current drinkers; 3% had never drunk alcohol; and 4% had
drunk alcohol previously but no longer do so. The results of this study showed that drinking
more than 29 units of alcohol in a week proved to be bad for facial aging. To translate that
into actual drinking, 29 units of alcohol can be either 10 glasses of wine or 17 bottles of beer.
People who drank alcohol occasionally had nothing to worry about. Only when alcohol
consumption went above 17 units per week was there any noticeable change in facial aging.
6. Sleeping with makeup on The last thing you want to do at the
end of the day is remove your makeup before going to sleep. But trust me, if you somehow overcome
that weak moment of laziness and remove your makeup, you’ll be doing your skin a huge favor.
When you go to sleep, your cells have a turnover process.
During this process, your old cells are shed. New cells come to the surface.
But if you sleep with your makeup on, it keeps the old cells trapped on the surface. This gives you
a dull complexion and makes you look older. It is important for your skin to be able to
complete the renewal process. Throughout the day, it is exposed to dirt that needs to be removed.
Without the renewal, your collagen will break down and your skin will lose its elasticity.
Oil-based primers are the biggest problem for skin rejuvenation. They clog the pores and don’t let
your skin complete its renewal process. The same is the case with foundations as well.
Before you go to bed, make sure you wash your face thoroughly. Too tired to thoroughly wash
your face? Try using cotton pads with a good-quality makeup remover to remove
even the smallest traces of makeup. This simple task can help keep your skin looking younger.
These days, skincare experts are talking a lot about double cleansing. You can even
try that. In double cleansing, you have to wash your face twice. First with an oil-based
product to remove all the waterproof makeup and sunscreen. A water-based cleanser follows it.
Staying young and healthy depends on your diet as well.
Are you interested in knowing more about foods and drinks that act as anti-aging superfoods?
Let’s keep the conversation going with a couple more videos on anti-aging. Shall we?
Watch 13 BEST Anti-Aging Foods To Help You Look YOUNG Forever
You can also try our video on 14 Anti Aging Drinks That Will Give You A Youthful Appearance
Go ahead, click one. Or better yet, watch both and learn more about nutrition and anti-aging.
Did you find any of your habits on our list? Let us know in the comments below!