Health “blacklist” in daily life

Jim Horn, professor at the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University in the UK, pointed out that getting up immediately after waking up is likely to cause sudden changes in blood pressure, leading to high blood pressure, stroke and other diseases.

Experts recommend: Don’t get up immediately after waking up, lie in bed for half a minute. After sitting up from the bed, sit on the edge of the bed for half a minute. Stand by the bed for half a minute, and then get out of bed and move around; this can relieve the damage to blood vessels caused by changes in cardiovascular pressure before and after sleep.

Such gradual activities can allow the body's organs to adapt to changes, reduce the pressure on blood vessels caused by getting up suddenly, avoid dangers such as falling, and help stabilize the heart rhythm.

No. 2 on the “blacklist” list: Crossing your legs

This seemingly comfortable little movement can cause disrupted blood flow in the legs, which can easily lead to venous thrombosis, scoliosis, and lumbar disc herniation. Liu Deping, deputy director of the Department of Cardiology at Beijing Hospital, pointed out that for people suffering from hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, crossing their legs for a long time will aggravate their condition.

One of the possible diseases: varicose veins or thrombosis in the legs

When you cross your legs, the knees that are supported by the cushion are compressed, which can easily affect the blood circulation in the lower limbs. If your legs remain in one position for a long time, they may easily become numb; if blood circulation continues to be obstructed, it may cause varicose veins or thrombosis in the legs. Especially for the elderly suffering from hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, crossing their legs for a long time will aggravate the disease.

Possible disease 2: affecting male reproductive health

When you cross your legs, your legs are usually pressed too tightly together, which increases the temperature around the inner thighs and genitals. For men, this high temperature can damage sperm, and if it continues for a long time, it may affect fertility. It is recommended that you do not cross your legs for more than 10 minutes. If you feel sweat oozing out from the inner thighs, it is best to walk in a ventilated place for a while to dissipate heat as quickly as possible.

Possible disease 3: spinal deformity and back pain

The normal human spine should be in an "S" shape when viewed from the side, but it is easy to hunch over when crossing your legs. Over time, the spine will form a "C" shape, causing uneven pressure distribution between the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae. If things go on like this for a long time, it will compress the spinal nerves and cause back pain.

Possible disease 4: bone disease or muscle strain

When you cross your legs, your pelvis and hip joints are under long-term pressure, which can cause soreness and pain. Over time, bone diseases or muscle strain may occur. When riding on a bus, if there is a sudden brake, the crossed legs will not have time to be straightened out, which can easily cause damage to the bones, joints and muscles or dislocation.

Third place on the “blacklist” list: Using the computer for more than 3 hours continuously

Using a computer for a long time can cause eyestrain, shoulder and back pain, as well as headaches, loss of appetite, insomnia and other problems.

Microwave hazards: A British study confirmed that the low-frequency radiation and magnetic field emitted by computer screens can cause 7 to 19 symptoms, including runny nose, itchy eyes, neck and back pain, short-term amnesia, irritability and depression. For women, symptoms such as dysmenorrhea and prolonged menstruation may also occur, and a small number of expectant mothers may also experience premature birth or miscarriage.

In addition, long-term computer work causes mental stress, great psychological pressure, and general fatigue, coupled with electromagnetic radiation, the incidence of breast cancer in female operators is about 30% higher than that of the general population. Relevant research has also found that electromagnetic radiation from computers can cause cancer.

Respiratory system hazards: The gases emitted by computers can be harmful. A recent research report published by researchers from the British Allergy Foundation pointed out that office equipment releases ozone gas that is harmful to human health, and the main culprits are computers, laser printers, etc. These ozone gases are not only toxic, but can also cause breathing difficulties for some people. In addition, staying in places with high ozone gas concentrations for a long time can also cause lung diseases.

No. 4 on the “Blacklist” list: Bending over to lift heavy objects

Hai Yong, director of the Department of Orthopedics at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, suggested that bending over to lift heavy objects may damage the waist muscles and lumbar discs. It's best to squat down and lean your body forward so that the gravity is shared by your leg muscles.

When bending over to pick up and carry heavy objects, the posture that is most unfavorable to the lumbar sacral region is bending over with straight knees to pick up and carry heavy objects. Because in this posture, when the lumbar spine straightens from a flexed position, although the gluteus maximus and other parts of the body will contract, the sacrospinal muscles cannot maintain the position of the spine and protect the ligaments when the waist is bent over more than 90 degrees. All tension on the posterior side of the spine is borne by the ligaments. When standing up, the sacrospinal muscles must first contract with greater force to stretch the trunk above the 5th lumbar vertebra and lift the heavy object. Therefore, it is very easy to cause a sprain of the lumbar sacral region. Moreover, when you lift heavy objects with your knees straight and your waist bent, the center of gravity of the object is far away from the axis of the trunk, which will inevitably increase the burden on the back muscles and ligaments, causing damage to the lumbar muscles and ligaments.

Correct posture: first move your body as close to the heavy object as possible, then bend your knees and hips, then hold the object with both hands, extend your knees and hips, and the heavy object can be lifted. In this way, you mainly rely on the contraction strength of the gluteus maximus and quadriceps femoris to avoid using the back muscles, and the chance of lumbar injury is also reduced. In addition, when moving heavy objects, be careful to keep your knees in a semi-flexed state and keep the object as close to the body as possible. This can reduce the burden on the waist and back muscles and reduce the chance of injury.

No. 5 on the “blacklist” list: straining during bowel movements

Straining too hard during bowel movements can increase the heart's contraction, causing a sudden increase in blood pressure and potentially leading to cerebral hemorrhage.

When the elderly exert too much force when defecating, it may cause changes in the coronary artery and cerebral blood flow. Due to the decrease in cerebral blood flow, fainting may occur during defecation. Those with insufficient coronary blood supply may experience angina pectoris and myocardial infarction, and those with hypertension may suffer from cerebrovascular accidents. It may also cause rupture of aneurysms or ventricular aneurysms, detachment of blood clots attached to the heart wall, arrhythmias, and even sudden death.

Due to low tension in the colon layer, megacolon may occur. Increased intra-abdominal pressure during forceful defecation may cause or aggravate hemorrhoids. Forced defecation may damage the anal canal and cause perianal diseases. Fecal impaction may result in intestinal obstruction, fecal ulcers, urinary retention, fecal incontinence, and may also result in spontaneous colon perforation or sigmoid colon volvulus.

No. 6 on the “blacklist”: Reading newspapers on the toilet

Sitting on the toilet to read books or newspapers will inevitably prolong the time of defecation, causing congestion in the anus, which in turn causes hemorrhoid attacks. In addition, anal congestion can mislead the nervous system, stimulate the "defecation sensor", and cause the anus to feel swollen and heavy for a long time. Therefore, it is better not to multitask when using the toilet.

Reading books or newspapers while squatting on the toilet will interfere with the brain's control of the defecation nerves and prolong the defecation time. Modern medical research has confirmed that squatting on the toilet for more than 3 minutes can directly lead to varicose veins and congestion in the rectum, which can easily induce hemorrhoids, and the severity of the disease is related to the length of time. The longer you spend squatting on the toilet, the higher the probability of getting sick.

Because squatting for a long time will increase abdominal pressure, causing poor venous blood return, leading to dilation of the superior rectal vein, loose closure of the venous group, and thinning and bulging of the venous plexus wall. If this happens frequently, it can easily lead to the formation of hemorrhoids.

Doctors recommend that when going to the bathroom, one should strive to finish the "battle" within 5 minutes, and at the same time continue to do anal lifting exercises, so as to effectively prevent and treat diseases such as hemorrhoids.