From wearing the wrong shoes to keeping the curtains closed, these seemingly innocuous activities can negatively impact our health.
We all know that a bad diet and sedentary lifestyle are a recipe for ageing unhealthily and unhappily. We should be walking as much as possible for a strong heart and lungs and feeding our gut with fresh fruit and veg, right?
Yet even when it seems that we are doing everything right, we could actually be harming ourselves with seemingly innocuous habits ingrained in our routines.
For example, although you may think your daily crossword is a great brain stimulant, if it’s less of a challenge and more a mindless habit, it could subtly accelerate your cognitive decline.
Here, two experts talk through the eight daily habits that may be subtly ageing you – and what to do about it.
Walking as your only exercise
We’re continually reminded of how important it is to get our daily steps in. Whether you’re loyal to 10,000 a day, or focus on speed and intensity, walking has powerful health benefits, ranging from improved cardiovascular fitness to circulation.
However, if walking is your only form of exercise and you neglect your muscles, this can cause problems down the line. It’s important to incorporate some form of resistance training to help “combat age-related muscle loss, which is clinically known as sarcopenia. It can also help with balance, co-ordination and improved bone density,” explains Dr Cheryl Lythgoe, a nurse consultant at Benenden Health.
One study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that people doing muscle-strengthening exercises alongside aerobic fitness are more likely to live longer, whilst research in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning in 2024 confirmed that weight-lifting can also improve quality of life as we age.
“You don’t have to be lifting heavy weights at the gym,” Lythgoe says. “You could try hill walking, gardening or carrying heavy groceries. Putting the body under gentle physical stress can slow down the signs and symptoms of ageing, allowing us to be active in our later years.”
Doing the crossword every day
Whether it’s learning how to write and count as a child or tackling the daily crossword in later life, brain stimulation is important at every age. However, if you make a habit of doing your daily crossword or Sudoku to the point where it’s hardly a challenge and simply a habit, this could cause your brain to stagnate.
“Our brains are similar to our bodies in that they need constant challenge and stimulation,” Lythgoe explains. “Once the brain becomes efficient at [your daily activity], then it gets ‘lazy’ again and doesn’t form new neural connections. Constantly repeating the same mental challenges leads us into a passive familiarity, where we can lose our creativity and mental speed.”
An older study published in Behavioural Brain Research explains that new neurones in the brain can die unless we engage in some form of “effortful learning experience” to incorporate them into circuits used for learning. To maintain our cognitive abilities, we need to challenge the brain with different mental tasks each day.
The next time you complete your morning crossword with ease, consider whether you could try a harder version, a different puzzle or a new activity or skill (such as learning a new instrument or language) to strengthen your brain.
Wearing the wrong shoes
Now and again, we all love dressing up and accessorising with fancy footwear – a pair of high heels, narrow-fitting pumps or smart leather brogues, perhaps. However, as we age, it becomes more important to consider if the shoes we’re wearing support our health and stability.
“As we get older, it’s common to suffer from different foot issues and therefore some people tend to opt for larger, looser-fitting footwear or resort to slippers,” Lythgoe explains. “Unfortunately, larger and looser doesn’t provide the support our feet need, and increases our risk of foot issues and falls.”
This was highlighted in a study in Geriatric Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation, which found ill-fitting footwear to be a common cause of foot pathologies which, in turn, further increased the risk of falls and fractures.
Lythgoe recalls seeing the effects of poorly fitting footwear during her tenure in general practice. “As we age, it becomes harder for blood to flow to the legs. Feet can be impacted by this, especially with footwear that puts added pressure on that area of the body,” she says.
“And unnoticed or unmanaged wounds can quickly create bigger issues. Incorrect footwear can also increase our risk of ulcers, falls, back and nerve issues.”
Footwear should be supportive, low-heeled, have a wide toe box where required, and a slip-resistant sole which will improve and support overall mobility, Lythgoe says.
Using earphones too often
While we all love listening to music on the go or tuning into a podcast to block out fellow passengers on the train, wearing earphones for long periods of time can lead to a range of problems, including “listening fatigue and concentration difficulties, which makes it harder for the brain to perform and streamline thinking”, says Dr Amit Arora, consultant geriatrician and president elect of the British Geriatrics Society.
In fact, in 2022 the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that over 1 billion people aged 12 to 35 risk losing their hearing due to prolonged exposure to loud music.
Normal conversation tends to register at 50 to 60 decibels, while modern earphones can reach levels comparable to a rock concert at 100 decibels, Arora explains.
“Whilst most people won’t listen to their music or a podcast at this maximum level, even prolonged exposure at a slightly lower volume can contribute to tinnitus or sensorineural hearing loss, which can cause longer-term problems,” he says.
Arora advises using earphones at a lower volume with frequent breaks to minimise damage.
Asking your partner or child to open jars
Some of us struggle with grip strength from a young age, finding it impossible to open a new jam jar or relying on others to carry a heavy and thin-handled shopping bag. However, as we age, grip strength is a “great indicator of overall body strength”, Dr Lythgoe says.
“Various studies demonstrate that good grip strength can lower our risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and frailty,” she adds.
One study by researchers at the University of California found an association between grip strength and dementia diagnoses, with it being most pronounced for vascular dementia. Meanwhile, a 2024 study conducted by the British Geriatrics Society found an association between poor grip strength and sarcopenia, which they used to monitor patients living with Parkinson’s disease.
“To improve your grip strength, try carrying groceries, repeatedly push yourself out of a chair or do more purposeful weightlifting exercises,” Lythgoe advises. “Whilst I appreciate this can be challenging for those with inflammatory or degenerative conditions, doing nothing with your grip strength is more dangerous, so remember to start slow and build slowly.”
Always drawing the curtains
Having your curtains open can be uncomfortable on hot days when it feels like the sun is blasting through the windows. However, keeping your curtains closed at all times can profoundly impact your mental and physical health.
“The sun has an important part to play in our whole body’s health, as moderate sun exposure – even those lovely warming rays that come through the window – can help to improve our cell and cardiovascular health,” Lythgoe says.
An expert review in Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences highlighted that regular sun exposure can lower blood pressure and reduce risks of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity. It also appears to benefit the immune system by potentially reducing inflammation. Meanwhile, a number of studies point to a positive association between sunlight exposure and mental health.
Only wearing sunscreen when it’s sunny
While research proves the importance of a daily vitamin D dose, we also need to ensure our skin is protected in the sun. The health risks of sun damage are well-established, ranging from skin cancer to premature ageing.
“Even on cloudy days or when you’re sitting by a window indoors, an SPF30 cream is recommended,” Dr Arora says. “Unshielded ultraviolet rays degrade the collagen and elastin fibres in the skin, which can lead to uneven pigmentation, fine lines, wrinkling and sometimes raise the long-term risk of more harmful conditions like melanoma, a skin cancer.”
Direct exposure to the sun can also increase the risk of developing cataracts, Arora says. UV rays can damage the proteins in the eye’s lens, causing them to break down and clump together, leading to vision loss.
The WHO estimates that 15 million people around the world are blind due to cataracts – some 10% may be a result of UV ray exposure.
Arora recommends using an SPF30 or higher whenever possible, and wearing sunglasses with UV 400 protection to protect the skin and eyes.
Not brushing your tongue
Brushing our teeth first thing in the morning and just before bed is an ingrained habit, and we all understand the importance of a clean and healthy mouth. However, just 30% of people in the UK clean their tongue, according to oral health company MyMouth. Perhaps we think it’ll take care of itself or be caught up in the minty freshness of our tooth-brushing rituals.
“If you don’t care for your tongue, deposits of bacteria and food can result in bad breath, gum disease, gingivitis and even potentially gut problems,” Arora says. “Recent research has suggested that an unhealthy tongue can lead to changes in the gut microbiome – the organisms in our bowels.
“A good helpful-to-harmful bacteria ratio helps our bowels function well, but when that relationship is disrupted, it can cause problems. It’s less commonly known that looking after our tongue specifically is as important as brushing and flossing our teeth.”
Around 700 species of bacteria live in the mouth. Generally, this is a good thing, as some of these bacteria have been found to help break down food and limit the growth of disease-causing bacteria. However, when this bacteria turns ‘bad’, they can infect the gums, causing inflammation, bleeding and disease.
“Gum disease has even been linked to cardiovascular problems, Arora says. He advises regularly brushing the tongue with a toothbrush or using a waterpik to gently and efficiently clean the mouth.