I’m a health expert – these are the 10 surprising everyday habits that are seriously ruining your health

Enjoying your coffee first thing in the morning, you forget to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth.

These may seem like two harmless and completely unrelated things, but they can have a huge impact on your health.

Chris Boettcher is a physical therapist in South Carolina who provides everyday health tips and Weight loss advice.

Drawing on recent research, he uncovered 10 surprising habits, including: Weight gainIt disrupts sleep and reduces people’s energy levels.

Click here to resize this module

Publishing his list online, which has already been viewed by 700,000 people, he said: “Health is simple.”

‘[Junk food companies have] Over the past few decades, we have shifted our lifestyles, the food we eat, and the information we consume away from simplicity.”

Drink coffee first

The first is drinking your coffee too quickly.

You might drink coffee early in the morning to help you sober up, but Boettcher warns that caffeine is a diuretic, which means it can make you lose fluids.

In the morning, you’re already dehydrated because you haven’t consumed any fluids for eight hours, and you lost fluids through sweating while you slept.

He recommended drinking about four glasses of water before drinking coffee.

According to the USDA, men should drink 13 glasses of water a day and women should drink 11 glasses.

Email in bed

The first thing you might want to do is pick up your phone and check your email or notification messages.

But Boettcher warned against this, saying, “There’s no worse way to start your day.”

“Spend some time outside, preferably moving your body, before checking your devices,” he suggested.

Experts say using your phone in the early hours of the morning can trigger a stress response, releasing cortisol in your body and affecting your mood throughout the day.

Research also suggests that mobile phones have a “brain drain” effect, reducing people’s cognitive abilities when they are nearby.

Mouth breathing

More than half of Americans are considered “mouth breathers,” meaning they breathe primarily through their mouths rather than their noses.

Mouth breathing can cause dry mouth: the constant air moving in and out of your mouth causes moisture to evaporate and bacteria to grow, increasing your risk of problems like tooth decay and infection.

Also, if the tongue rolls back in the mouth and blocks the airway, it can cause snoring or sleep apnea, disrupting healthy sleep and causing disrupted sleep.

To combat this, Boettcher recommended “practicing conscious breathing through your nose and considering using a tape while you sleep.”

Send before bed

While lying in bed, many of us are on our phones, scrolling through the latest news and sending the occasional text or email.

But experts have warned against the blue light emitted by mobile phones, which can disrupt sleep and keep the brain in ‘active’ mode.

Boettcher recommends turning off all devices after 5pm, using do not disturb mode, and scheduling this every night.

Using your cell phone before bedtime can make you hypervigilant before sleep, making it harder to fall asleep.

It can also cause stress and stimulate the release of hormones like adrenaline, which also makes it harder to stop.

Eat cereal for breakfast

Cereal companies like to remind us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

However, cereals are often full of refined carbohydrates and sugars that can spike your blood sugar levels.

“This is why you feel chronically tired and hungry at the end of the day,” says Boettcher.

Instead of cereal, he recommended a protein- and fat-based breakfast that includes eggs, oatmeal, berries and nuts.

Too little protein intake

Doctors say that eating protein helps you feel fuller for longer and is a great way to lose weight.

Boettcher is no exception, recommending focusing on a high-protein diet.

The USDA says people should consume 50 to 175 grams of protein each day.

Boettcher recommends everyone aim for the higher end of this estimate — the equivalent of about four steaks per day — to reap the health benefits.

“Protein should be at the core of your diet for satiety, muscle growth and repair, and immune function,” he said.

Protein is the most satiating of the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats and protein.

Sitting at a desk

Estimates suggest that more than eight in 10 Americans work at a desk.

This forces you to stay in the same place for more than eight hours a day, which can have a negative impact on your health.

Boettcher says sitting at a desk for more than six hours increases your risk of a variety of complications, including poor posture, weight gain, and an increased risk of chronic disease.

And his claim is backed up by research, which found that desk workers are 13% more likely to die from any cause than those who don’t sit at a desk.

To limit the negative health effects of their jobs, Boettcher said workers should try to move around by standing up, stretching and walking every hour.

Drink carbonated drinks and juices

High calorie drinks are tempting, but they should be avoided.

One can of Coca-Cola contains 39 grams of sugar, more than the recommended daily intake for both men and women, while one glass of orange juice contains 25 grams of sugar.

Experts warn that because it contains no fibre, this sugar is absorbed directly into the bloodstream, causing a spike in blood sugar levels.

“Cutting back on liquid calories from juice, soda and alcohol is a huge boost for weight loss and overall health,” Boettcher said.

Enjoying alcoholic drinks at dinner

Many of us like to enjoy a glass of wine or beer with dinner after a hard day at work.

But Boettcher warns against it, saying it can lead to weight gain, anxiety and increase the risk of chronic disease.

Drinking alcohol late at night also increases the risk of disrupted sleep by suppressing REM sleep, which is needed to process memories from the day.

A pint of beer or a glass of wine contains approximately 14 grams of pure alcohol.

Because the liver breaks down alcohol at a rate of roughly 10 grams per hour, it can take up to two hours to remove one of these drinks from the bloodstream.

“Drinking a few drinks a week isn’t going to kill you, but drinking every day could,” Boettcher said.

Exposure to bright lights close to bedtime

Another problem with looking at screens in bed is that it can disrupt your sleep.

These use blue light and can inhibit the release of melatonin in the brain, which signals it’s time to sleep.

To avoid this, Boettcher recommends using a blue light blocker or turning off your screens an hour before bedtime.

“We want to avoid this at all costs,” he says.