Green juice in hand and workout routine in place, you are doing your best to stay healthy. But some everyday habits might be quietly undoing your work. From how you floss to how you sleep, here are 7 unassuming bad habits and the simple swaps your future self will thank you for. 

Not changing pillowcases often enough
You wash your face, slather on serum, but then spend 8 hours pressing your cheek into a pillowcase full of the past week’s sebum, bacteria and product residue. For the reactive skin, this easily contributes to acne breakouts. 

Habit hack: Change pillowcases at least once a week, or 2-3 times a week if you are especially acne-prone or sensitive skin. Bonus tip—use silk pillowcases to reduce friction, keeping your hair less frizzy and your skin wrinkle-free. 

Starting your day with dessert
That cereal or sweetened coffee for breakfast may seem like a happy start to your day. But high-sugar foods on an empty stomach can cause rapid blood sugar spikes and crashes, leading to hunger spirals later in the day and so, potential weight gain. 

Habit hack: Swap for a savoury breakfast, with protein and healthy fats. Think eggs, yogurt, nut butter toast, or even a tofu bowl. If you must have a touch of sweetness, have it as dessert, after steadying your blood sugar with that protein-rich base. 

Brushing before flossing (or skipping the floss altogether!)
Neglecting to floss is a fast-track to gum disease and cavities as it leaves 30% of the mouth untouched. Imagine all that remaining plaque and food particles in between each tooth! While brushing before flossing may be intuitive, it may just push food and plaque back into your gums. 

Habit hack: Floss first to dislodge the gunk. This allows for the brushing to sweep it all away and for the fluoride from toothpaste to effectively reach between the teeth, enhancing tooth enamel strength and overall oral health. 

Aggressive hair washing and drying
We all learned such hair-handling techniques from the movies, but vigorous scrubbing and rough towel-drying can damage hair cuticles. They lead to an irritated scalp, breakage, frizz and split ends. 

Habit hack: Be gentle. Wet hair is fragile so massage shampoo with fingertips (not nails!) and pat the hair dry, even better with a cotton T-shirt or a microfiber towel. 

Showering in steaming hot water
Steaming showers may feel like self-care, but that scalding water strips the skin’s natural oils, leading to dryness, inflammation, and even worsening conditions like eczema. 
Habit hack: Switch to lukewarm showers and finish with 30 seconds of cool water. This helps to close pores, soothe the skin barrier, and even boost circulation for that post-shower glow. 

Not fixing that slouch & “tech-neck”
Looking down at your phone all day? That posture of constantly facing downwards actually pulls on your neck muscles, accelerating horizontal neck lines and jawline sagging. 
Habit hack: Hold screens at eye-level and do regular neck-stretching exercises. Good posture isn’t just for your spine health—it’s a facelift from the shoulders up. 

Skimping on sleep (or sleeping at random hours!)
Not getting enough or good quality sleep doesn’t just leave you groggy, it accelerates aging. Sleep deprivation disrupts collagen production and increases cortisol, which breaks down skin elasticity over time. It also impairs cellular repair and shortens telomeres, all linked to biological aging. 

Habit hack: Aim for 7 hours of consistent, quality sleep at night to keep your sleep-wake cycle regular. Optimise your bedroom for rest by making it cool, dark and screen-free an hour before bed to allow melatonin (your natural anti-aging hormone) to do its work. 

“Healthy” snacking throughout the day
While nuts, dried fruits and smoothies are all nutritious, these foods are calorie-dense and still high in sugar. Constant snacking, even when healthy, can quietly lead to weight gain as it disrupts your body’s natural insulin rhythm, affecting your fat storage and metabolic health. 

Habit hack: Eat intentionally, not constantly. Stick to structured meals with enough protein and fiber to keep you full. Whenever you need that snack, portion it out and walk away from the kitchen.