1. You sweat the small stuff.
Does the woman who had 15 items in the express lane stay with you all day? You might be shortening your life. A recent study found that how you react to the stress of even minor events (like a rude stranger) affects your health. "Always perceiving your problems as stressful creates adverse health effects," says Carolyn Aldwin, PhD, director of the Center for Healthy Aging at Oregon State University. And that's dangerous the chronically stressed have the highest risk of premature death. To prevent this, keep it all in perspective, says Dr. Aldwin. Ask yourself, "on a scale of one to 10 (where 10 is living in a war zone), how stressful is this problem?.
2. You retire early.
With all the dangers of stress, you may think you're doing yourself a favor by eliminating a supreme source of frustration: ahem, work. However, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that retirees were 40% more likely to suffer from a heart attack or stroke than their working peers in their first year of retirement. Plus, a French study found that delaying retirement actually helped ward off dementia risk by 3% for each additional year of work because using your brain on the job protects it. Instead of abandoning the workforce altogether, work part-time or volunteer. According to a recent study on age and happiness by the Brookings Institute, those who work past retirement age are "typically happier and more satisfied with their health than their retired counterparts."
3. Your commute is more than 30 minutes.
Rush-hour driving has been linked to spikes in blood sugar and blood pressure, an increase in anxiety and depression and overall life dissatisfaction, according to a UK study from the Office for National Statistics. And numerous studies have found a higher instance of "ultraviolet-linked skin cancers arising on the left rather than the right side" in driving commuters because car windows only protect against UVB rays.
Talk to your boss about changing your start time to avoid rush-hour traffic.
Take long, deep breaths to reduce the physiological effects of stress.
Wear sunscreen and consider protective film for your car windows, which SkinCancer.org says can reduce radiation exposure by up to 99%.
4. You exercise too much.
Recent studies have found that endurance athletes' excessive training is linked to tooth decay. They often get dry mouth, which depletes tooth-protecting saliva and increases bacteria. So how does that shorten one's life? There's a link between periodontal disease and heart disease, and bacteria in mouths can inflame preexisting heart conditions. Ward off dry mouth on runs by chewing gum and drinking plenty of water. Also, avoid sugary sports drinks and get your dentist's recommendations for preventing tooth decay.
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