(Akiit.com) Do you think about your long-term health as you go about your day to day life? Most people don’t, but that’s a big mistake. And it’s one that you should try not to make. If you neglect your health for too long, it will eventually catch up with you, and then you’ll wish you thought about it sooner.
There are some ways in which you’re probably neglecting your long-term health without even noticing it. To help increase your awareness of how your health can be hindered, here are seven ways in which you’re probably not protecting your long-term health.
- Neglecting Your Skin
Many people take their skin for granted, and that means it gets worse and worse. This might not be a big deal or even noticeable right now, but it will be years down the line. And then you will wish that you had taken the health of your skin a little more seriously. One of the major things that people neglect is protecting their skin from the sun. It can harm your skin all throughout the year. So, if you’re going to be spending time outside, even if it’s winter, you should use some form of UV protection.
- Putting Off Those Key Changes Until Next Week
This is something we’ve all been guilty of when it comes to looking after our health. It’s so easy to say that we’ll make a change tomorrow or after the weekend or next month. But when you keep pushing back and pushing back those important changes, it’s 
possible that they’ll never get made at all. I’m sure that’s not what you want to happen, but it’s what will happen if you don’t live in the present and commit to making changes right now.
- Viewing Stress as Just Another Part of the Job
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. And it’s about time you realise that fact. Many people don’t take their mental health nearly as seriously as they should. They experience stress through their job, and after a while they just get used to it. But intense stress and anxiety caused by your job isn’t just another part of the job. Or, at least, it shouldn’t be. You should take a break or speak to your boss about how your stress problems can be handled better if your job is the main driver of them.
- Taking Every Chance to Minimize the Amount of Walking You Do
These days, it’s so easy to be sedentary and never get active. However, this will put you in bad shape and you will slowly but steadily put on weight. It’s hard to get out of that routine, but the first step should be to take more steps. When you walk more, you will be able to get active more. Try not to take every chance you get to hop in your car, take a cab ride or get on the bus. Instead, walk a bit more. The same applies to taking the stairs rather than the elevator.
- Failing to Take Safety at Work Seriously
Safety at work doesn’t have to be something that’s just another workplace annoyance. It’s something that should be taken very seriously. When you take it more seriously, you make sure that nothing goes wrong that doesn’t have to go wrong. It’s also the responsibility of your employers to make sure that they make the workplace and your job as safe as possible. The Brown Firm can help you if you do get injured because of someone’s mistake. But focus on looking after your own safety too.
- Letting Yourself Become Dehydrated During the Day
Drinking water during the day is important, so why don’t more people do it in the correct and proper way? If you allow yourself to get behind on the amount of water you drink during the day, you’ll just become dehydrated. And that can have a big impact on your long-term health. Your skin can get into bad shape, and you can also cause problems for your kidneys, liver and the strength of your hair if you get dehydrated a lot.
- Assuming that 6 Hours of Sleep is Enough
Finally, you need to make sure that you don’t just assume that 6 hours of sleep is enough for you. Your body needs more sleep than that each night. And if you don’t give it that chance to recuperate and recover, the impact it will have in the long-term can be huge. There are so many ways in which your mental and physical health can be damaged by a lack of sleep.
Staff Writer; Shelia Lee