No one wants to look old before their time, and America’s multi-billion dollar fitness and beauty industries are proof of that. But it turns out, some of the things we do all the time may be undermining our efforts to keep our youthful appearance.These are some of the everyday habits that could be making us look older.
- Drinking soda- Sipping sugar-sweetened drinks can not only pack on the pounds, it may make you age faster, too. One study finds that regularly drinking sodas could lead to accelerated cell aging.
- Eating sugary foods- Excessive sugar in any form is not great for aging and according to anotherstudy, eating a lot of the sweet stuff can damage collagen and elastin - which keep our skin plump and youthful - and make it harder for the body to repair them.
- Drinking too much alcohol- It makes us look older by dehydrating the skin and causing inflammation throughout the body, which may show up on the face as flushing, puffiness and broken capillaries.
- Not getting enough sleep- Sleepless nights can make us groggy the next day and too many of them can leave us looking ragged, too. When we’re asleep, our skin is in renew and repair mode andresearchshows women who got quality sleep had “significantly lower intrinsic skin aging” than women who got poor sleep.
- Smoking- Tobacco smoke contains hundreds of toxins that are up close and personal with your face when you light up, so it’s terrible for your skin. Astudyon sets of twins finds those who smoked were more likely to have drooping eyelids, under-eye bags, lip wrinkles and lines around the mouth compared to the twin who didn’t smoke.
- Getting too much sun- Those UV rays make our skin look prematurely older and even worse? They can lead to skin cancer, so slather on that sunscreen with at least 30 SPF when you’re in the sun.
- Stressing out- Research from Harvard Medical Schoolreportsthat chronic stress can age you faster, which is one more reason we all need to find healthy ways to ease our stress