It is safe to say that delaying the age of time on our body and skin is probably one of the most important life goals that every woman has in mind.
While ruling out the obvious contributing factors like excessive alcohol abuse and smoking, here are six seemingly harmless habits that could be speeding up the ageing process.
Checking your social media feeds incessantly.
There’s nothing wrong with scrolling through your Facebook and Instagram accounts via your phone. But when you do so, you normally look down, thus resulting in a condition referred to as “tech neck”.
From here on out, it could lead to dropping jowls, saggy skin and creases around your neck. Make a conscious effort to keep your phone slightly closer to your eye level, or perhaps give yourself several breaks from your phone throughout the day.
Blasting music through your headphones.
Your tolerance to loud sounds generally increases whenever you feel like turning up the music when listening to your favourite songs. And by doing so, it can lead to a gradual process of hearing loss. To prevent this, you can use noise-cancelling earbuds to block out the background noise so that you don’t feel the need to raise the volume.
Overdosing on sugary foods.
Having a sweet tooth on a regular basis won’t just affect your weight loss efforts – it also takes a toll on your skin.
According to a 2007 study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, once sugar hits your bloodstream, it forms glycation end products that damage your proteins like collagen and elastin – hence, making your skin look dull and wrinkled.
The ageing effects usually start to show at about age 35 and increase rapidly after that.
Sleeping on the side or your stomach Your “sleep lines” might not be so harmless after all. By sleeping on the side or your stomach, there’s a repeated pressure that usually occurs on your face, arms and stomach, and this promotes the breakdown of collagen. Hence, those sleep lines could have a good chance of turning into wrinkles.
Drinking from a straw.
This might happen all the time when we’re out and about, but according to celebrity esthetician Renee Rouleau, pursing your lips regularly encourages the breakdown of collagen and elasticity around your upper lip area, which could result in wrinkles and lines. While it can be difficult to deny yourself a straw every now and then, pay more attention to your lip line when you’re going through your skincare regime by applying facial serums and moisturisers.
Not eating enough vegetables Even if you love your weekly fix of salads, you should know that it isn’t entirely enough.
The antioxidants you get from consuming vegetables are important because they help fight off free radicals that can otherwise leave a dull and older looking appearance on your body and skin. However, they only remain active for about a few hours, which is why there’s a need for them to be continually replenished. A good diet to follow? Try including greens in every meal of the day.
