8 Pretty Harmless Things That Are Actually Bad for You

We all understand that it is harmful to cross the street without looking both ways first, or to ingest chemicals that people usually have under the kitchen sink. However, there are still many things that, at first glance, are quite harmless, but, nevertheless, bring us obvious harm. We can do many of them on a regular basis.

1. Wake up to an alarm clock

Many people wake up every morning to an alarm clock to be on time for work or school, and on the weekend they get enough sleep for the entire week. But according to researchers, these are bad habits: for many people, the amount of sleep they get on weekdays and weekends is too different. According to experts, such disruption of natural circadian rhythms makes a person weaker and increases the risk of obesity.

A study conducted in Japan shows that the consequences may not only be a disruption of the circadian rhythm - waking up abruptly also harms the heart. When you wake up to an alarm, your blood pressure rises, and you instantly find yourself in a “state of alert,” which is not very good for the body.

If you really need to wake up early, but going to bed early is not possible for some reason, then to maintain good health, it is better to at least find a way to wake up gradually.

2. Wear flip flops

Flip flops are a very popular summer shoe, mainly because they are comfortable, breathable and generally cheap. The sad truth is that flip-flops kill your feet.

For starters, flip flop straps tend to go between your toes, which can cause painful blisters and cuts. But most of all, doctors are concerned that while walking, flip-flops do not provide proper support to the legs.

Flip flops are, for the most part, just a simple piece of rubber in the shape of your foot, plus some straps to keep you on your feet. At the same time, such shoes do not bend in the right places, and the cheapest models do not bend at all.

The position that your feet have to take while walking to prevent your flip-flops from falling off is also not very helpful: orthopedists warn that constantly wearing flip-flops is bad for your posture, so flip-flops can ultimately lead to various joint pains and other related problems. problems.

This, of course, does not mean that you should give up flip-flops or flip-flops forever, but experts say that you should wear them in specific situations, even in the summer it is better to prefer normal shoes. And if you still want to wear flip-flops all the time in the summer, then invest in a model designed to support your feet.

3. Sit

If you are reading this article right now, you are most likely sitting. Moreover, many of you probably spend most of your day sitting. According to researchers, this is very harmful: a recent study found that people who sit for at least 23 hours a week are more susceptible to heart disease. Most of the subjects regularly exercise, but also sit quite a lot.

Some researchers have also noted that anyone who leads a sedentary lifestyle is at risk for cardiovascular disease. All parts of the body must be constantly used to stay healthy: the more time you are inactive, the worse it is for your heart.

4. Shower often

Many people wash every day, sometimes several times - in modern society there is an opinion that this is useful. Of course, we do not mean that you should not wash at all, but modern science has shown that frequent soaping of the body and dousing it with water is not very good for the body.

Not only “bad” bacteria live on the body, but also “good” ones, which the body needs - natural lubricants necessary for the skin, but frequent washing can cause dryness, and subsequently eczema.

Soap can wash away both bad and good bacteria from the body. By the way, hair shampoo is also not very useful. Experts believe that showering should be directly related to physical activity - in other words, you should wash because you need to, not because you are used to doing it at a certain time.

5. Wear a backpack

Entire generations of schoolchildren carry textbooks and school supplies to school in a backpack. Many children put on a backpack in kindergarten and, figuratively speaking, do not take it off until graduation.

Unfortunately, this may explain why so many people develop chronic back problems at a young age. Every year, backpacks cause back pain for thousands of people, and this is especially true for children.

It is possible to mitigate the damage, even if for some reason it is problematic to abandon the backpack. The ideal position of the backpack is five centimeters above the waist, and all straps should be properly tightened. In addition, children are advised to carry only what is really necessary in their backpack, so as not to carry unnecessary weight.

6. Wear cheap sunglasses

We do not want to say that any sunglasses are harmful, on the contrary: good glasses provide your eyes with the necessary protection. However, ophthalmologists believe that cheap glasses do not protect against ultraviolet radiation - you might as well not wear them at all.

Typically, when you look at bright light, your eyes squint in defense, and if you wear glasses, your eyes open and allow the light to affect them. Cheap glasses do not have a normal protective coating, which means they not only do not protect from the sun’s rays, but also allow them to unimpededly affect the eyes.

Some cheap sunglasses claim to be of high quality, but research has been done: none of the glasses you can buy on the market at a bargain price inspire confidence.

7. Light candles

For a long time, candles were necessary because people did not have electricity, and they had to somehow illuminate dark rooms - there was no sun, but they wanted warmth, light and joy. When light bulbs appeared, the fashion came to use candles to create a romantic atmosphere and aromatherapy.

Unfortunately, these so-called benefits make candles dangerous: they can easily cause fires in the home, and every year they are responsible for the destruction of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property around the world.

You can say that as long as you keep an eye on the candles, everything will be fine. But sometimes candles are simply of poor quality, and for a fire to start, it only takes being distracted for a minute. Even more alarming, according to a recent study, is that paraffin-based candles release toxic gases such as benzene.

To ensure that candles do less harm, researchers suggest ventilating the room and using them as little as possible - this will reduce the amount of toxic fumes to a minimum.

8. Eat rice

Rice is a very common food: it is eaten all over the world, so the idea that rice could be harmful seems quite absurd at first glance. The source of the problem is at the molecular level: it is not the rice itself that is harmful, but the pesticides and fertilizers used to grow it.

Just a couple of years ago, Consumer Reports conducted a study on arsenic in food: rice and rice-based products contain particularly high levels of inorganic and organic arsenic - a cocktail of toxins.

For those who try to eat exclusively healthy foods, the results are even more alarming - brown rice contains even more arsenic than white rice. Children and pregnant women should be especially careful, experts say, but even healthy adults should eat no more than one bowl of rice a week.