At some point in your life, you must have been guilty of having bad habits that you were unable to stop. Even when you know that some habits have damaging effects on you, cutting them out completely is a challenging task. 

However, perhaps when you understand how seemingly tiny habits can cause great damage to your health and wellbeing, you’d be more willing to make a conscious effort to stop them altogether. Continue reading to learn more about 6 tiny habits that cause great damage to our body.

Many people who start nail-biting at a young age find it extremely hard to quit as they grow older. Kids usually start this habit unintentionally especially when they’re anxious or shy, and it somehow becomes a coping mechanism that they do to deal with stressful situations as adults. What you might not be aware of is that biting your nails can cause irreversible damage to your teeth. This can cause them to shift, and you will need braces to restore their alignment. 

Furthermore, the germs and bacteria found under your nails can infect your gums and cause a myriad of oral issues that in some cases can develop into digestive diseases, not to mention the painful ingrown nails that appear when you constantly gnaw on your fingers. 

The best thing you can do to kick this nasty habit is to become mindful of your actions. When you catch yourself with the urge to bite on your nails, learn to stop yourself, and eventually you will become more aware and have more control over your actions. You can also make use of bitter nail polish, which is similar to that used on kids’ fingernails to discourage them from nail-biting. 

If you are a busy working woman who barely has enough time, there’s a good chance you are guilty of over-drying your hair with some nasty habits. If you think that the few minutes you save when using hot air is worth the damage, think again. 

Blow drying your hair on high heat will make your hair brittle and lackluster. If you want to maintain your shiny strands and lock-in moisture, use a professional hair dryer that comes with customizable heat settings to suit your needs. A high-quality dryer is the next best thing after air drying. In some cases, it can be even better as it will help you control your frizzy hair and tame stubborn flyaways.

There’s a popular misconception that regular use of exfoliants can help you get rid of the dirt and bacteria that clog your pores; however, this is not entirely true. When you over-exfoliate your skin, you strip away the natural oils that your body produces to protect the epidermis from external elements. Physical and chemical exfoliants alike should be used with caution and only once or twice a week. Don’t fall victim to clever marketing campaigns, consult a dermatologist to understand your skin, and then decide how often you will need the harsh scrubbing.

Vitamin popping is definitely a trend that has been going strong for decades now. Many people believe that consuming supplementary vitamins will compensate for a deficiency and would cause no harm if they don’t suffer from any. This is far from the truth. 

Excessively ingesting any mineral or vitamin will surely have some sort of a side effect in the long run. One main problem is that different minerals and vitamins can affect the absorption of each other inside your body. So, if you think that while treating your anemia you might as well boost your calcium intake, you’re actually exacerbating your iron deficiency and further complicating the problem.

Calcium and iron are known to compete for absorption so by taking both at the same time, you will be setting your body up for failure. This is just a small example to help you see why you shouldn’t take vitamins mindlessly unless recommended by a healthcare professional.

We all know how annoying the ever unwelcome occasional breakout can be; however, frequently popping pimples is not the best course of action. When you vengefully squeeze the life out of a tender pimple, you can push the pus deeper into your skin and cause further irritation.

 Even if you did manage to do it correctly, pimple-popping increases the chance of scarring so you’ll be dealing with worse and more challenging problems down the line. The best thing to do is to keep the infected area clean and use a gentle antibacterial solution as per your dermatologist’s recommendation. The important thing is to fight the urge to pop the pimple and give it time to heal on its own.

Not getting enough sleep will not only put you in a bad mood the following day, but it can also cause a number of serious diseases ranging from severe anxiety and depression to high blood pressure and diabetes. Your body needs the downtime for cellular regeneration and chemical balance restoration. Make sure to prioritize your sleep and try to get in at least 7-9 hours every night to keep illnesses at bay.

As you have read, all of the above habits are considered simple and common at first glance. However, hopefully, now that you have learned more about the harmful effects they have on your health, you can see them for what they really are. You need to get rid of these poor habits sooner rather than later and enjoy a healthy life.