It’s not exactly breaking news to say that cigarette smoking isn’t the most healthy pass-time. It’s linked to cancer, throat damage, erectile dysfunction, and more. Recent regulations have gone as far as to force cigarette manufacturers to put the most horrible pictures of real-life victims of smoking right on the back of their product packages.
And you guessed it, it’s bad for your kidneys as well. Despite the warnings and the heavy financial burden, many people find it extremely hard to let go of their smoking habit. If you find yourself unable to quit, it’s important that you find a support group that specializes in quitting smoking. If you’re currently smoking, don’t stop fighting. It’s never too late to quit.
Don’t Ignore Your Body When You’re Sick
Everything from an unwashed hand to sharing space with sick people can eventually lead to you catching a common cold or worse, the flu. The average person will get sick 1-3 times a year, and the more time you spend ill, the more antibodies you produce to fight the infection/virus. These antibiotics may have a negative effect on your kidneys and cause them to become highly inflamed, so you should attempt to keep your colds as short as possible. But how?
First thing’s first, more than 70% of Americans report that they still go to work while they’re sick. This is problematic for two reasons. First, you dramatically increase the chance of someone else becoming sick. Second, it will take you much longer to heal from your cold if you’re sitting at a desk, working.
Mental Health can Improve Kidney Function
People who are chronically stressed suffer from faulty hearts, reduced immune systems, a tendency to gain or lose weight, emotional regulation issues, and yes, even kidney disease. There is a strong consensus among researchers that chronic stress harms your kidney’s health, although the actual reasons for this correlation aren't clear yet. One theory is that high-stress levels cause high blood pressure, which harms the kidneys over time.
Being chronically stressed can also cause a myriad of other negative habits, such as poor sleep amount and quality, as-well-as poor food choices. These may contribute to even further kidney damage. You can try adopting various positive habits that reduce stress such as meditation, and also research how food affects our emotional regulation.
Skip That Fourth Cup of Coffee
There's nothing inherently wrong with drinking coffee, especially if you do it in moderate amounts. The problems only start when you drink too much coffee, which is considered to be more than three or four cups per day, depending on your body size.
Drinking too much caffeine causes your blood pressure to rise and your heart to work irregularly, it also causes stress and heartburn, all of which contribute to possible kidney damage. Dr. Jessica Saville of the National Kidney Foundation recommends drinking no more than three cups of coffee per day as a standard.
The More You Stand, the Better Your Health Will Be
First, let's just get this out of the way — the human body is not built for sitting down for long stretches of time, period. Our bodies are mostly built for using complex and sophisticated muscle and bone systems to perform various physical activities. There's a good reason why our bodies are as resilient as they are, often a lot more than we even think.
In 2015, a meta-analysis of 41 studies found that sitting for a prolonged time drastically increases the risk in adults for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Another recent study found that reducing your sitting time by just one hour daily reduces heart disease risk by a whopping 26%. There's no problem with sitting for short bursts, as long as you make sure to get up and walk right after. Try to not sit down for more than an hour without at least taking a quick two-minute stretch.