Can Your Daily Habits Make You Look Older?

The process of aging differs from person to person. Some tend to age faster than their biological age in comparison to others that look refreshingly younger always. This aging process often is dependent on your lifestyle, dietary habits and environment and all the other habits that you maintain everyday. Let's have a look at some of your habits that may be responsible for making you look older: 

1. Bad sleeping habits: Your body needs to reinvigorate (rejuvenate) itself every day and for this to happen, you need to make sleep a priority. While everyone's sleep requirements are different, seven to eight hours of fitful sleep is required daily. 

2. Having a sweet tooth: Anything in excess is never good, especially when you're not exactly sweet sixteen always. A diet with a definite emphasis on sugar will only add to your waistline. Its end products tend to damage the collagen (the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues) and the elastin, leading to saggy and wrinkly skin.

3. Smoking: It is a known fact that damage your health, but it also speeds up aging. Its harmful chemicals deprive your cells of oxygen leading to a pale appearance. They also break down the collagen in the skin, once again leading to wrinkly skin. 

4. Drinking: Being a natural diuretic (drug), alcohol causes dehydration. This robs (take away) your skin of its natural moisture, making you look much older. It also rids your body of Vitamin A and C that are antioxidants important for making your skin look supple (flexible) and well hydrated. 

5. Exposure to sun rays: Sun rays only do more harm to your skin than good. Exposure to its ultra-violet rays (UV rays) can weaken your blood cells which can make your skin look leathery. It can lead to pigmentation of skin as well. Sagging and wrinkling follow. 

6. Not enough veggies: Veggies are essential antioxidants that help you look youthful, but they only last for so long and must be replenished daily. It is important to take care of your body and small changes to your everyday routine can go a long way to slow that aging process and make you look your age- young and refreshing.