These 10 behaviors may seem fun, but they are actually very harmful to your health!

Everyone has some little hobbies in life that make them feel "secretly happy": after a tiring day, they can lie on the sofa and browse their phone like Ge You; after staying up late, they can sleep until noon and combine breakfast and lunch into one meal. And what many people feel a sense of accomplishment in is: when their lips are dry, they can tear off a piece of their lips.

Little do you know that although these things seem to feel great, they actually cause far more damage to your body than you can imagine.

1. Take a nap after meals

Many people feel sleepy after eating because staple foods such as rice can increase blood sugar, thereby increasing insulin secretion and promoting the formation of melatonin. Many sleep aids contain melatonin.

However, if you fall asleep at this time, it will affect the digestion of food. In the sleep state, the peristalsis, emptying and absorption process of the digestive tract will slow down. For people with poor gastrointestinal function, food retained in the stomach may ferment and produce gas. In other words, as the saying goes, it is easy to fart.

At the same time, after eating, as the gastrointestinal tract moves, blood circulation will also become faster. If you take a nap immediately at this time, the blood supply to the brain and the whole body will be forcibly reduced, aggravating physical discomfort. Some people feel groggy after waking up from a nap. This is the principle.

It is best to eat less refined carbohydrates such as rice and steamed bread at lunch, and wait for some time before taking a nap. In addition, it is best not to take a nap for too long, preferably less than half an hour. Many research results show that napping for more than one and a half hours will increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

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2. Nails are cut cleanly

Cutting the nails to the bottom to perfectly fit the curve of the toes not only looks beautiful, but also increases the interval between the next nail trimming. However, this is not good for the fingers themselves.

Human fingers and toes are composed of nail plates and soft tissues covered by the nail plates. The two check and balance each other. If the nails are cut too deep, the soft tissues will grow without restraint. When the nails grow back, the two will collide and squeeze together, thus forming an ingrown nail. When the two collide, one will be injured. A hard enough nail will pierce the nail groove. When bacteria invade, redness, swelling and suppuration will occur, thus forming paronychia.

Therefore, when cutting nails, it is best not to cut them too short and not too deep on the sides to ensure coverage of the nails and soft tissue.

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3. Lying on the sofa like Ge You

"Ge You Lying" is a posture between lying and sitting. Although it is very comfortable, it is very harmful to the human body and can easily cause lumbar muscle strain and spinal diseases.

When you lie down like Ge You, a triangle is formed between your body and the seat and backrest of the sofa, and your back is suspended in the air. At this time, your shoulders and waist become stress points, which can easily cause damage to the muscles, fascia and ligaments around the lumbar spine. If you take a photo of yourself at this time, you will find that your head is actually tilted forward. Studies have shown that the greater the bending angle, the greater the pressure on the cervical spine. Long-term "Ge You lying" will accelerate the degeneration of the cervical intervertebral disc, causing shoulder, neck and back pain, dizziness and nausea.

For the sake of long-term planning, it is best to avoid this short-term comfort as much as possible.

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4. Turn off the lights and play with your phone

Looking at the phone before going to bed is a habit of most people, but this habit can cause damage to the eyes in many ways.

First, it will damage the ocular surface structure composed of corneal epithelium, conjunctival epithelium and tear film tissue. Due to the large light difference between the screen and the surroundings, if you use your phone in the dark for a long time, the stability of the tear film will be destroyed, and the cornea will become dry and the conjunctiva will become congested.

Secondly, it will affect the stability of intraocular pressure. In a dark environment, many people will stare at the screen at close range. At this time, the pupil will shrink, the eyeball will focus inward, and the intraocular pressure will increase slightly. And staring at the screen for a long time will keep the eye muscles moving, further increasing the intraocular pressure.

Finally, it can cause long-term damage to eye health. There is a sensory tissue in the human eyeball that can provide more than 90% of visual information to people, that is, the macula located in the retina. Mobile phone screens release blue light. If high-intensity blue light enters the eyes for a long time, it will increase the risk of macular disease.

In addition, many young people who have trouble sleeping are used to watching sleep-inducing videos before going to bed, but this is just a temporary solution. The information on the phone will stimulate the brain, and if you get too addicted to it and disrupt the circadian rhythm, it will not only make you unable to sleep, but also affect your daily routine the next day.

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5. Clean your ears frequently

Every family has an ear pick, and some people may even go to the hospital to pick their ears. Every time they see a large piece of earwax being dug out, they feel so happy. However, most people don't actually need to pick their ears.

Earwax has a scientific name, cerumen. It is not simply ear excrement, but the guardian of the ear. It can protect the ear canal, block foreign objects, maintain acid-base balance, and prevent bacteria from growing. Normally, it will fall off naturally with the chewing and exercise of the human body. If you pick your ears excessively for a long time, it will stimulate secretion and make more and more earwax. Incorrect ear picking posture and strength may also damage the ear canal or even pierce the eardrum.

At present, the ear cleaning shops on the market do not properly store and disinfect the ear cleaning tools, and there are many news reports of people getting fungal infections in their ears after going to ear cleaning shops. If there is a real need, such as for the elderly, children or oily ears, it is best to go to a regular hospital.

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6. Sitting for a long time

The place where young people today spend the most time is probably the chair, whether it is for work, eating or resting. But sitting for a long time is also risky.

For example, it can cause you to suffer from "gluteal amnesia". It's like a piece of rubber with strong elasticity. If you press it once, it will recover, but if you hold it with a heavy object, it will remain compressed even after you lift it up. The same is true for the buttocks. If you sit for a long time, the buttocks will become flat and loose, and it will also affect other parts around the buttocks, such as making the thighs thicker and causing frequent pain in the waist and back.

At the same time, if a person sits in a chair in a flexed posture for a long time, the force on the lumbar spine will increase by 100% compared to when standing, thereby increasing the risk of lumbar disc herniation.

Not only that, the meniscus of the human knee does not have any vascular tissue itself, and mainly relies on the pressure of the joint cavity to absorb nutrients. If you sit still for a long time and there is no pressure difference, the meniscus structure cannot get sufficient influence and will gradually degenerate, causing knee arthritis.

Of course, if you want to avoid all the above problems, it is also very simple, that is exercise. For every hour of sitting, getting up and exercising for three minutes can greatly improve your health.

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7. Frequently picking your nose with your fingers

Picking your nose is not only practical, but also meaningful. Click on your emoji package and you will see the same soybean emoji. However, in any sense, it is not recommended that you do this action for a long time.

Nasal mucus is not nasal excretion, it comes from the mucus secreted by the nasal mucosa, which is used to moisten the nose and stick to dust and cell debris. Picking your nose with your fingers will irritate the nasal mucosa, causing it to secrete more mucus, creating a vicious cycle.

At the same time, the capillaries in the nose are extremely abundant, and bleeding will occur if you are not careful. In addition, the gaps between people's fingernails often harbor dirt and grime, so using them to pick your nose is actually transporting bacteria.

Of course, there is one biggest danger, that is, your fingers are much thicker than your nostrils. If you often stick your fingers in there, your nostrils may become bigger over time.

If you really want to pick it out, it is best to be gentle and use a soft cotton swab dipped in clean water to roll it around to clean it.

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8. Eating breakfast and lunch in a row after sleeping in and waking up late

The human body has a circadian rhythm, which is the biological clock. Each organ will remember this rule and use it as a basis for work. If you usually eat normally, and suddenly eat breakfast and lunch together after staying up late, they will not be able to adapt.

In the morning, when it is time to eat breakfast, the stomach will automatically secrete gastric acid. If the stomach is empty, the gastric acid will directly corrode the stomach. At noon, because the total amount of breakfast and lunch is much larger than a normal meal, the stomach cannot secrete so much gastric acid, which will cause food accumulation.

At the same time, when you are hungry or full, your blood sugar will fluctuate like a roller coaster. During this process, insulin cannot accept the stimulation and may give up.

So try to keep a regular schedule, eat on time, and have a balanced diet.

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9. Pick your teeth with your fingernails

If we rank confusing behaviors, picking teeth with fingernails would definitely be in the top three. It's just that it does more harm than good.

The thickness of fingernails is much greater than the gaps between teeth of ordinary people, so it is impossible to clean them completely. However, fingernails are very sharp. Doctors often use a mirror to look carefully when doing oral examinations, but most people clean their teeth by feeling. If they are not careful, the fragile gums will be damaged.

Most importantly, it may be picking its ears one second, picking its nose the next, and at this moment, it has entered its mouth again. Who would have thought that using a small fingernail to pick teeth would point to food hygiene and safety?

If you want to pick your teeth, there is actually a very simple way. It is best to always have an oral irrigator and dental floss, which can remove most of the debris while protecting the health of your teeth.

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10. Lip smear

Finally, we come to the "quirk" that many people have. The word quirk is not just a joke, it may refer to a mild self-harming behavior, which is medically called "compulsive skin excoriation disorder."

In fact, chapped lips may not only be caused by drinking less water or lack of vitamins, but also by cheilitis. Peeling off this layer of chapped lips will not solve the problem.

If you frequently tear it off, it may also bring negative effects. The skin of the lips is very thin and has many capillaries. It is easy to hurt or bleed if you tear it with your hands. In addition, tearing off the dead skin on the lips is actually a layer of protection. Repeatedly tearing off this layer of protection and irritating the lips will easily allow bacteria to invade. Over time, you may develop angular cheilitis.

The correct way is to apply a hot towel for a few minutes to soften the dead skin, then brush off the dead skin with a soft brush and apply lip balm for moisturizing care.

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References

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[8]Waongenngarm P, van der Beek AJ, Akkarakittichoke N, Janwantanakul P. Perceived musculoskeletal discomfort and its association with postural shifts during 4-h prolonged sitting in office workers. Applied Ergonomics. 2020;89. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103225.

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Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert