10 Sneaky Little Things That Are Bad For Your Health

1. Commuting to/from work in rush-hour traffic.

The amount of stress from rushing, speeding, cutting off others, getting cut off by others, and riding bumpers generates low-level stress that accumulates over time and never goes away.

2. A glass of wine or beer with dinner.

It may seem innocent enough, but 1) you become hooked to it and it's hard to stop consuming it, 2) it disrupts your sleep, 3) it contains unnecessary sugar and gluten, and 4) it contains extraneous calories that slowly accumulate over time.

3. Living paycheck to paycheck.

This is another experience that generates a low-grade (sometimes high-grade) stress that is omnipresent.

4. Eating right before going to sleep at night.

It disrupts sleep, digestion, and makes it harder to burn off those calories.

5. Skipping a workout.

It may not seem like a big deal, but giving yourself permission to skip one workout means you are more likely to give yourself permission to skip the next workout, and now you're on a slippery slope. Always plan to take tomorrow's workout off, but not today's workout.

6. Living in a city.

Too much smog, too much traffic, too much noise, too much concrete and buildings, and not enough nature. All of it totals up to yet another source of low-grade stress that never goes away.

7. Always thinking the other guy is a jerk.

All the time you spend thinking someone else is a jerk who's just going through life being a jerk and who's out to get you is less time you're spending on bettering yourself. The other guy may well be a jerk, but more likely you simply don't understand and haven't tried to understand the person.

8. Not getting out in the sun.

Getting out in the sun reduces stress, improves sleep, and we all know about Vitamin A.

9. Being dehydrated.

Almost everyone is dehydrated to some degree. It requires a lot of effort and discipline to give the body enough water and electrolytes to function at its best.

10. Sitting.

Sitting too much (and it doesn't take long for it to become too much) increases heart disease, back pain, depression, causes tissue degeneration, and of course weight gain. For me, it's caused tight hip flexors and hamstrings that I have to dedicate time every day to work on loosening up.