Before you start to beat yourself up, please know that everyone is prone to picking up a bad habit every now and then. Nobody is perfect.

However, bad habits can negatively affect your health and overall well-being. If you take some time to assess your day-to-day routine, you may uncover certain poor habits that you need to quit. Maybe you pull your hair, bite your nails, or binge on junk food.

To help you enhance your daily life, here’s a list of 6 habits you need to quit right away.

1. Inadequate Sleep

The human body depends on sleep to recharge and get rid of toxins naturally. Therefore, you need to prioritize sleep in your daily routine.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults require 7-9 hours of sleep every night. Young children and teenagers require more sleep than adults for healthy growth and development.

Here are some bad sleeping habits to avoid for healthier sleep:

• Working out too close to bedtime

• Watching TV or using your smart gadgets in your bed

• Eating late in the night

• Working or studying right up until it’s time to sleep

• Sleeping in during the weekend

• Taking alcohol before you hit the hay

By avoiding such habits, and adopting healthier ones, you can lower the risk of obesity, mood disorders, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions.

2. Eating Excessive Amounts of Junk Food

Gouging down cheeseburgers, fries, soda, and other types of junk food on a regular basis is not a good idea. That’s because it can lead to weight gain around the midsection, and other associated health issues, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Trans fats, typically present in fast food, elevate levels of “bad cholesterol”, which can contribute to blockages in the arteries.

The health perks of switching to healthier food are usually immediate and significant. You can reverse the bad fast food habit by:

• Cutting back on your weekly intake of junk food

•  Going to fast food joints less often

• Switching to grocery stores instead

•  Making your own healthy meals at home

3. Hair Twirling and Pulling

The difference between hair twirling and trichotillomania (hair pulling disorder) depends on the degree. Most times, hair pulling leads to hair loss, possible bald patches, and psychological distress. However, if you’re just toying with your hair, it’s not seen as a disorder.

Mild cases can occur for a variety of reasons. Maybe you like how it feels when your hair passes between your fingers, or you get the urge to touch your hair when nervous or bored. Additionally, you might mess with your hair often if you’re constantly wondering about how it looks.

If you are susceptible to hair twirling, you can try to remedy the situation by occupying your hands with other things. For instance, you can press a stress ball, put your hands together, or apply a thick layer of lotion on your hands.

4. Nail Biting

If you’ve fallen into the poor habit of nail-biting, you need to stop. This habit is not only unhygienic, but it can also cause social problems. It can ignite dental problems, like malocclusion of the front teeth, possibly trigger abdominal issues, and deform the fingernails.

Here are some tips on how to end the nail-biting behavior:

•  Know your triggers: Nail biting can have a genetic cause or be triggered by emotional distress, boredom or feeling underwhelmed.

• Maintain short nails: Long nails can be tempting to bite, but with shorter ones, there is not sufficient nail for your teeth to grasp

•  Invest in a nice manicure: When your nails are well-done, it will not be easy for you to want to damage them by biting

•  Cover your nails with a bad-tasting substance, such as foul-tasting lacquer or vinegar

•  Put on gloves

• Occupy your hands with some fidget toys and keep your mouth busy with chewing gum

• If the options above fail, try to reach a therapist, because nail-biting may be a symptom of a more serious disorder like anxiety

5. Spending Time with Negative People

If you want to succeed in life, you should be careful about the people you choose to surround yourself with. You need to avoid naysayers who play devil’s advocate to the goals you want to reach.

Negative people can influence your attitude and way of thinking. They can also drain your energy and damage your credibility.

Associate less with pessimistic people and hang out more with supportive persons who offer constructive opinions instead.

6. Smoking and Excessive Drinking

Smoking is a dangerous habit that can cause premature wrinkles, teeth discoloration, bad breath, cancer, and death. Passive smokers are also at high risk of contracting the numerous health conditions linked to direct smoke. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking causes over 480,000 deaths annually in the United States alone.

Excessive drinking is another bad habit to avoid. It can result in brain problems, heart ailments, liver disease, pancreatic issues, and even cancer.

If you smoke or drink a lot, quitting straight away may be tough. You can start by cutting down on the number of cigarettes you smoke or glasses of alcohol you partake in per day until you stop completely. You can also seek therapeutic help.

By quitting bad habits such as the ones above, you can transform into a healthier and happier person!