Happy New Year! 新年快樂！
Being sedentary, not drinking enough water and staying up late at night are just a few of the 10 worst habits that can make you susceptible to falling ill. How many do you have? The results of the latest version of a national survey on people’s living habits show that 20-somethings in Taiwan have the worst living habits of all, including staying up late, being sedentary, eating foods with high caloric content, regularly keeping their heads down to look at electronic devices and using computer devices in bed before falling asleep.
Chen Liang-kung, director of the Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, says that such poor living habits can increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, neck and spine disorders and mental deterioration. Chen recommends changing bad habits while you are still young, like setting an alarm clock to remind you to stand up and move around for three to five minutes every hour, putting your cellphone far away during sleep, and limiting the amount of high-calorie foods you eat.
A health magazine published by cable news station TVBS conducted the survey by telephone in October, interviewing 1,092 people over the age of 15.
The survey found that the number one bad habit among Taiwanese is being sedentary and standing too long, with around 72 percent of respondents saying they have this problem. Drinking less than a liter of water every day came in at second (33 percent), followed by habitually putting one’s cellphone next to the pillow while sleeping (33 percent), not exercising (30 percent), often lowering one’s head to use an electronic device like a cellphone or tablet computer (30 percent), drinking at least one sugary drink every day (30 percent), frequently crossing one’s legs (30 percent), eating high calorie foods at least twice a week (25 percent), using a mobile device like a cellphone or tablet computer in bed before sleep (24 percent), and sleeping less than six hours every night (21 percent) respectively.
Getting inadequate sleep for an extended period of time affects the autonomic nervous system and can lead to high blood pressure, as well as increasing one’s risk of high stress and irregular heartbeat, Chen says. People who get less than six hours of sleep every night should try going to bed 15 minutes earlier and taking afternoon naps for 30 minutes.
To get rid of these bad habits which can lead to illness, Chen recommends taking a gradual approach to change. For example, people who do not exercise at all can try getting off the bus one or two stops earlier. People who drink sugary drinks every day can try taking half the amount of sugar instead of the full amount, and eventually no sugar. People who do not drink enough water should force themselves to drink 500cc of water right after waking up, and again in the morning and in the afternoon, he says.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
十大致病壞習慣「久坐」、「不愛喝水」、「熬夜」，你有幾個呢？最新公佈的「國人生活習慣大調查」結果發現，台灣二十至二十九歲的年輕人，生活習慣最不好，包括「熬夜」、「久坐」、「吃高熱量食物」、「長期低頭用3C產品」，以及「睡前還在床上用電腦」等。
台北榮總高齡醫學中心主任陳亮恭指出，這些不良生活習慣，可能加速心血管疾病、代謝疾病、頸椎病變以及心智退化等，建議趁年輕改掉壞習慣，不妨設定鬧鐘、每小時站起來活動三到五分鐘；睡覺時將手機放遠；限定自己吃高熱量飲食頻率等。
這項調查由《健康兩點靈雜誌》於今年十月間、針對全台一千零九十二位、十五歲以上民眾進行電話訪問。
調查發現，國人最常見的生活惡習第一名就是「經常久坐或久站」，共有百分之七十二民眾有此問題；其次依序為：「每天喝水不足一千cc（百分之三十三）」、「睡覺時，習慣將手機放在枕頭旁邊（百分之三十三）」、「完全不運動（百分之三十）」、「常低頭使用手機或平板電腦等3C產品（百分之三十）」、「每天至少喝一杯以上含糖飲料（百分之三十）」、「經常翹腳（百分之三十）」、「每週有兩天以上吃高熱量食物（百分之二十五）」、「睡前躺在床上使用手機、平板電腦等3C產品（百分之二十四）」以及「每天睡覺都不足六小時（百分之二十一）」。
陳亮恭指出，長期睡眠不足不僅影響自律神經，還可能有相對高血糖問題，甚至因壓力大、心律不整等風險也高，睡眠不足六小時者不妨試著每天提早十五分鐘上床，午睡補眠半小時。
要遠離這些致病壞習慣，陳亮恭建議，可以採循序漸進的改變。例如，完全不運動的人可以試著提早一、兩站下公車；或每天喝含糖飲料的人，從全糖改成半糖，然後變成無糖；水分攝取不足的人應規定自己在起床、上午、下午時各喝五百cc水。
Resources:
Freedom From Resistance
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2580
Resources:
Freedom From Resistance
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2580
