It is no mystery that most of the things that we use every day are unhealthy to our minds and body. With the immense change in our day-to-day lifestyle habits, our life has become massively stressful and busy that we pay very little attention to the toxic products we consume daily. The impact of such unhealthy lifestyle habits can lead to life-threatening outcomes in the long run. According to a study, the risk factors of detrimental behaviors as tobacco consumption and energy drink are highly linked with poor health. We have compiled a list of all the little and silly everyday things and daily habits that can slowly kill you.
Certain things have become such an everyday aspect of our lives that we usually find it difficult to live without them. This list might be shocking as we often overlook or never imagine that these things can deteriorate our health, if not slowly kill us.
Before we begin, here is a small disclaimer. Don’t freak out too much; you’ll most likely be okay if you stick to the “everything in moderation” mantra. Toxicity is often in the dose, after all, so you’ll probably be just fine.
Some of these things won’t harm you if used correctly and with caution. But sometimes excess use or improper or careless actions can turn dangerous in the long term.
Let’s have a look at everyday things that can kill you!
20 Everyday Activities And Things That Can Slowly Kill You
Here are the top everyday activities that slowly kill you in the long run. Keep reading to know what these daily activities are!
1. Air We Breathe
The air we breathe today isn’t as pure as it was previously. With the rise in pollution and deforestation, the quality of air is also decreasing significantly.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 7 million people die every year because of the dreadful air pollution.
The air quality today is polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances which can also aggravate:
- Heart diseases.
- Strokes.
- Asthma symptoms.
- Lung cancer.
The people living in urban cities are well aware of the quality of the poor air they breathe. The unhealthy air quality affects men, animals, plants, forests, and materials and profoundly affects the earth’s atmosphere.
Moreover, for decades, no one has worried much about the air quality inside people’s homes unless there was secondhand smoke or radon present. But, in fact, indoor air pollution is also a rising global concern today, and one primary source of indoor pollutants in the home is cooking.
2. WaterÂ
When we talk water, we don’t only mean the water we drink, but also the water bodies around us.
In the United States, 40% and 46% of the lakes are contaminated and are considered unhealthy for swimming, fishing, and aquatic life.
Many of us enjoy spending time in water parks and pools. Have you imagined what that water carries?
Due to Chlorine usage in pool water, germs have become immune to the effects of Chlorine. Many people also urinate in the pools, making them more harmful and disgusting. And adding too much Chlorine can be hazardous, and contact with over-chlorinated water may cause asthma, skin and eye irritation.
Furthermore, UNICEF reports that more than 3000 children die every day globally due to a lack of access to clean drinking water.
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3. Overusing Mobile Phones
Smartphone addiction is a severe issue among youngsters today. Apparently, 66% of the world’s population have nomophobia (NO MObile PHone PhoBIA), a psychological condition where individuals fear being detached from their phones.
Moreover, everyday activities like using smartphones mindlessly can turn fatal to humans in two different ways:
- The radiation of cell phones emits radiofrequency energy (radio waves), a form of non-ionizing radiation that might cause certain types of cancer or other health problems. Therefore, the effect of mobile phone radiation on human health is a subject of interest and study worldwide due to the enormous increase in mobile phone usage.
- Mobile phones are often termed unsafe from the batteries the devices use. There have been many instances when the damaged battery exploded and injured the owner of the phone.
4. Unhealthy Physical Activities
People daily spend hours sitting at one place at work or home watching TV. Unfortunately, prolonged sitting is threatening your health.
A recent study suggested sitting for a prolonged time increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death, even among people who exercise regularly.
“Sitting for an extended period is thought to simulate, albeit to a lesser degree, the effects of weightlessness on astronauts,” says Professor Biddle. Evidence showed that prolonged sitting is independently associated with harmful health outcomes and mortality. Solution? Try taking a walk after every interval.
5. Prolong Sleeping
Everyone loves to turn off that stupid alarm in the morning and wish to oversleep. But did you know oversleeping can be harmful? While infrequent oversleeping is okay, there can be some dangers if you oversleep every day for a very long time.
Oversleeping has been associated with many medical problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and an increased risk of death. Furthermore, a 2014 study cited that too much sleep can contribute to the risks of depression.
6. Fast Food
As much as we love to relish the taste of fast foods, those food do more harm than good to our bodies.
Consuming fast food is universally dangerous and ideally needs to be warned by parents. Most of us consume street food prepared in unhygienic conditions with excess oil and fats. As a result, it affects our general health.
Chain store foods are deep-fried and consist of high total calories and saturated fat, and are a principal source of trans-fat that harms your health.
7. Taking Selfies
Did you know that posting too many selfies can be harmful to your real-world relationships? Selfies are a craze of the 21st century, but it has proved fatal to many.
There are potential accidents that have occurred due to clicking selfies. A report shows that 259 people died while clicking selfies between 2011 and 2017.
Moreover, selfies can also cause emotional harm as they may not be self-accepting of their flaws.
Selfie elbow is another condition surfacing these days. This is a condition where you experience swelling in the tendons that run along your arm from your hand to your elbow.
8. Air Fresheners
Air fresheners are very common in our houses. After all, they are known to freshen up the environment of our home. From bathrooms to personal cars, most of us use them every day.
However, studies claim that air fresheners are toxic and unhealthy for our health. Inhaling air freshener may lead to:
- Coughing
- Choking
- Difficulty breathing.
Also, the usage of air fresheners in our daily lives significantly contributes to indoor air pollution too.
9. Eating Toxic Food Products
Many of us are addicted to processed food, aren’t we? We love binging on pizza, burgers, refined foods, and beverages every time we are on a movie marathon or on a Netflix binge.
But we forget that even though they are quick and fast, they hurt our health if we make it a daily habit to consume unhealthy processed food.
Research also claims that processed food is an evident indicator of the obese population in the United Kingdom. They contain a massive amount of sodium and sometimes fat and preservatives like nitrates.
However, the effects of cold cuts and processed food on your health depend on which ones you choose and how much you eat.
10. Self Medication
When we fall sick, ideally we seek our doctors for professional help. But sometimes, we tend to overstep and make small mistakes causing great harm.
In fact, a shocking report states that medical error is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Furthermore, 250,000 people die in the United States due to medical negligencies.
Hence, always take professional health care, recheck the medicines with the doctors, and double-check them from the pharmacist every time you buy medications.
11. Eating Fish
Water pollution affects the health of fish adversely. Fishes need oxygen and clean water to survive in water bodies. Since industrial wastes are thrown into large water bodies, harmful toxins like nitrogen and phosphorous enter the water streams through those wastes.
Over time, these toxins accumulate in the water while growing algae and plants, and as they rot, they lower the oxygen levels in the water. As a result, they affect the living organisms of the water bodies.
According to the Peta Organization, fish flesh today is badly contaminated with toxic chemicals known to cause cancer and brain degeneration and is also the most likely of all foods to make you sick from bacterial contamination. The plastics and other harmful waste is thrown in the river and ocean are consumed by the fishes, which humans later consume.
12. Naphthalene Balls
Naphthalene balls are ordinary in every household. We usually use naphthalene balls to keep all those pesky insects at bay from our favorite clothes, so it retains the quality of clothes the same as new ones.
However, naphthalene balls can be dangerous if used in the presence of small children. Kids usually mistake these mothballs for candy and consume them. And there have been reports showing an occurrence of death after ingesting mothballs.
Moreover, naphthalene balls slowly turn from solids to toxic vapor. When you smell mothballs, you are inhaling the insecticide. These gases are irritating to the eyes and lungs and may cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea.
13. Drinking Toxic Carbonated Beverage Products
Research predicts that the carbonated beverage drink industry will grow by heaps from 2020 to 2027. It is not shocking that Soda and colas are a favorite among Gen X and Gen Y age groups.
Even though most of us are aware of the harm they cause to our bodies, we drink them anyway.
Suppose you are a person who daily drinks carbonated cola drinks; you need to stop it right now. Besides harming your teeth, carbonated beverages have a high sugar and acidity level, which causes the risk of calcium and magnesium loss from bones due to a change in the body’s pH levels and makes you obese.
14. Overusing Microwave Ovens
Almost every home has a microwave oven, and why would anyone use it? Microwave ovens have made our everyday cooking activities easier than before. Every time you want to eat something, all you have to do is throw the ingredients on a baking tray and put it inside the oven.
But little carelessness with microwave ovens can cause enormous harm. Some people are not quite aware of the dos and don’ts of a microwave oven, which can be harmful.
Microwave ovens have a form of electromagnetic radiation used to heat foods. Although this hasn’t harmed our body, sometimes the leak of these radiations can make you sick. Also, microwave radiation may heat the body tissue the same way it heats food. So, it’s highly imperative to use a microwave with caution.
15. Toxic Food Products
Our daily food consists of rice, dal, vegetables, poultry, milk, etc. In some places, food adulteration is a grave concern.
Big food companies are involved in food adulteration and mix inedible substances in their manufacturing process to increase the quantity and make more profits.
E.g., washing powder is generally mixed with milk to give more quantity and stones and metals are combined with food grains, etc. Even our fruits and vegetables are tampered with to make them look fresh.
According to CBS News, here are the top adulterated foods that we consume daily:
- Vanilla Extract
- Maple Syrup
- Apple Juice
- Coffee
- Orange Juice
- Honey
- Olive Oil
16. Minor Cuts And Scratches
We usually ignore minor cuts and scratches on our bodies with the intention they will heal on their own. But sometimes, these minor cuts can turn to lead to fatal issues like sepsis.
Sepsis causes 37,000 death every year, according to a report by DailyMail. Your skin acts as a shield against any foreign organism and your internal body parts.
If exposed to an unhealthy environment, harmful and toxic bacteria may enter your body through these tiny wounds and harm your health destructively.
17. Less Sleep
Sleeping less has the same negative effect as oversleeping.
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep while affecting the brain and cognitive function adversely as a result.
This can cause you to fall asleep in the wrong places, like while driving, which may cause accidents. A CDC report states that drowsy driving is one of the major causes of 72,000 crashes.
Moreover, continuous lack of sleep can affect your overall health and make you prone to severe medical conditions, such as:
- obesity,
- heart disease,
- high blood pressure and
- diabetes.
18. Imbalanced Burnout Causing Lifestyle
Sure, we all need money to pay our bills and fulfill the necessities of life. However, working tirelessly for long hours can lead to burnout and take a negative toll on your overall well-being.
It’s true when someone says they can’t balance their work and personal life. After all, everything in the corporate world is like a race for money today, and sadly, there’s no stopping.
People work for 7 to 8 hours every day and spend countless hours every year sitting in one place and staring at the computer. The stress is always high. Doctors link long shifts and on-the-job anxiety to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and stroke. So don’t think twice before taking a chill pill.
19. High Heels
Women can vouch for their love for high heels. Give a girl a pair of heels, and she can conquer the world! High heels are a dream and a craze for every single girl. Slipping these on makes us feel elegant and sexy.
Even if wearing those heels physically torments their feet, they wouldn’t stop wearing them. It’s similar to having a toxic relationship with your boyfriend where you want to leave them but cannot.
But surely, the physical ailments of wearing such long heels will soon catch up with you if you don’t give those feet some rest. High heels are bad for your feet, and prolonged usage of high heels can cause lower back, hip, and knee issues.
Furthermore, they also affect your spine and posture by changing the shape of your calf muscles and Achilles tendons.
20. Plastic Containers
Plastic – a time bomb waiting to explode.
The usage of plastic water bottles and food containers is prevalent these days. Bottled water companies increasingly use BPA-free plastic, but laced into plastic bottles are other chemicals that can seep out with exposure to heat or sitting around for a long time.
These toxic chemicals—found in most plastic, PVC, and vinyl items produced today—have been linked to obesity, enlarged male breasts, early puberty in girls, and increased breast, prostate, and other cancers.
Plastic – A Time Bomb Waiting To Explode
Concluding Thoughts,Â
Everything mentioned in this will kill you slowly if you don’t take the necessary steps to battle them today itself. With time and small actionable steps, it’s feasible to fight these toxic everyday activities and live a healthy lifestyle.
If you found this list shocking or interesting, do share it with your friends. We have many more exciting articles lined up, so subscribe to our website and social media channels to stay updated with the best and latest content.
Key Takeaways On Everyday Activities That Kill You Slowly
- Many activities destroy our health every day, but we tend to turn a blind eye to them.
- The air we breathe is contaminated with toxins and cancer-causing elements that adversely affect our physical health in the long run.
- Also, after air pollution, a lack of clean water is a rising concern that can significantly worsen our physical well-being.
- Everyday activities like mindlessly using mobile phones can potentially lead to certain types of cancer or other health problems because of the radiation.
- Furthermore, a lack of physical activities and sitting for a long period every day manifests in heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and death.
- Similarly, oversleeping also magnifies the same health issues related to prolonged physical inactivity.
- Eating fast foods every day without any healthy activities harms health.
- Additionally, there have been reports signifying people dying while taking selfies.
- Usage of air fresheners may lead to coughing, choking, and difficulty in breathing.
- The fish we eat is also highly toxic due to the water contamination and industrial wastes thrown in large water bodies.
- Naphthalene balls are also toxic and can be fatal if ingested.
- Drinking carbonated beverages can weaken bone health and make one obese.
- Everyday activities like cooking your food in a microwave oven need to be limited and done with caution.
- Also, sepsis due to minor cuts and scratches results in 37,000 death every year.
- Sleep deprivation is another major cause of poor brain health and cognitive function, along with overwork.
- Lastly, wearing heels most time and plastic usage is highly detrimental to our health and the environment.
What are some common everyday activities that are unhealthy?
- Smartphone addiction.
- Consumption of unhealthy food daily.
- Sitting for a long time.
- Oversleeping and sleep deprivation.
- Overworking.
- Wearing high-heels for a long period.
What are the toxic things we do without any awareness?
- Polluting the air with toxic fumes.
- Using plastic leads to plastic pollution.
- Throwing wastage in large water bodies significantly leads to water pollution.
- Inhaling air freshener at home and cars.
