Turning 40 is a milestone in life that’s a good time to reflect on lifestyle choices and make changes where appropriate. This is why we have compiled 20 things you may be doing today at 40 that put your emotional, physical, and mental health at risk.
Sleeping on an Old Mattress
After 40, any mattress that doesn’t allow you to get a full night’s rest should be avoided, and old mattresses are the usual culprits. You shouldn’t sleep on uncomfortable mattresses because they aggravate back pain and the negative effects of sleep deprivation, like fatigue, anxiety, and memory impairment.
Heavy Drinking
After 40, heavy drinking is a big no-no. Analyzing global data, The Guardian shares that occasional consumption of alcohol actually holds benefits against many ailments after your ‘40s. However, do this in excess, and you actually increase your risk of developing them, as well as liver disease and cancer.
Wearing Ill-Fitting Clothes
To ensure comfortable living, you should prioritize wearing clothes that are comfortable to fit into. Opting for tight clothes that restrict your movement in the name of fashion only limits your blood circulation, causes skin irritation, and leads to respiratory problems. You should really stop this now that you’re 40!
Engaging in Drama
Drama isn’t just an unnecessary waste of time; it also deteriorates relationships. Constant conflict with others only stresses you into unhealthy levels of negative emotional, mental, and physical well-being. You don’t need these in your later years.
Eating at Bedtime
Eating just before bed makes you fall asleep faster by stabilizing your blood sugar levels, but do you know what else it does? It also leads to reflux, heartburn, and eventual weight gain. At 40, you should start making it a strict habit to eat at least two hours before bedtime.
Being Afraid to Express Yourself
If you’ve always masked who you are or what you’re interested in, it’s time to change your mindset. Yes, you may do this because expressing your true self makes you feel vulnerable but understand that you can only build meaningful, long-term relationships with people who love you for who you are.
Consuming Artificial Sweeteners
Many people believe artificial sweeteners are great substitutes for sugar, but are they really safe? A University of South Carolina study explains how you increasingly develop tolerance for them, which eventually pushes you into sugar cravings and obesity-related habits. Hence, at 40, you should be more cautious about artificial sweeteners.
Taking On Unnecessary Debt
At 40, you also need to start being more intentional about getting out of debt. This doesn’t mean debt is bad, as it can come in handy, but what you want to avoid is unnecessary debt due to unnecessary luxury purchases, such as fancy clothes or furniture.
Staying in Bad Relationships
When you see that a relationship isn’t going anywhere or that you constantly feel disrespected, it’s time to leave it. Remaining in this relationship will only waste your time and expose you to mental health issues, and you really don’t want to be dealing with that by the age of 40!
Ignoring Sunscreen
When you expose your skin to the sun’s UV rays, sunburn is the least of your worries. You increase your risk of developing actinic keratosis, melasma, and skin cancer. Your skin even ages faster, looking thick, wrinkled, and leathery. Sunscreen prevents all this, and, thankfully, it’s never too late to start wearing one.
Having Unorganized Rooms
Everyone is prone to having cluttered living spaces as we grow older—we just keep acquiring stuff over the years. Sadly, clutter and disorganization have been linked to increased levels of frustration, anxiety, sleep-related problems, and an inability to focus. These effects worsen with age, which makes clutter unhealthy at the age of 40.
Strenuous Exercises
It’s okay to start or keep working out at 40—it’s even advised that you do. However, you should stop exercises that are excessively strenuous on your bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons. These parts of your body have grown weaker over the years and are prone to slow-healing damage.
Living in the Past
The age of 40 is also the time to let mistakes and failures of the past go. Psych Central lists anxiety, depression, impulsivity, low self-esteem, and poor choices as negative factors you expose yourself to. These undoubtedly affect your more crucial present and future endeavors.
Being Unaccountable
You also want to stop avoiding taking accountability for your actions as you age. Failing to accept your failures or shortcomings destroys your chance to learn and grow from them, and you also put your relationship with the people affected by your actions in jeopardy.
Consuming Fatty Foods
If you’re 40, you should limit your exposure to foods that cause obesity, coronary heart disease, and cancers. The best way to do this is to avoid fatty foods; you can replace your high-fat favorites with low-fat alternatives, and once you get used to them, they’ll be just as tasty!
Skipping Drinking Water
The older you get, the more susceptible you are to dehydration. Without water, you are more likely to experience headaches, heart rate spikes, urinary tract infections, and kidney failure by the age of 40. Don’t just drink it when you’re thirsty, as this means you’re already dehydrated.
Comparing Yourself to Others
Using the achievements of friends, family, or colleagues to gauge where you’re supposed to be in life only damages you mentally and emotionally. It hurts your self-esteem and self-perception, breeds feelings of envy and resentment, and inhibits you from having healthy relationships in your personal and professional lives.
Eating Processed Meat
At 40, the saturated fats in processed sausage, ham, bacon, and salami worsen your exposure to heart disease and high blood pressure. Worse still, the WHO places processed meat in the same carcinogenic class as tobacco and asbestos, given that they expose you to bowel and stomach cancers.
Procrastinating
When you procrastinate, you put yourself in an extended state of stress over a task. However, in addition to these short-term effects on your health, you also threaten your professional growth, become less proactive in healthcare treatments, and ultimately lower your quality of life and satisfaction. Now is the best time to stop!
Skipping Medical Checkups
Finally, routine checkups at the hospital are key to identifying any hidden health issues as you age, so stop avoiding them! When you’re younger, you feel indestructive, but you’re 40 now, so it’s time to start looking after your body. Attend those medical checkups, and you’ll thank yourself later!