Taking a Quick Drag Every Now and Then
While regular smokers have a chemical component fueling their addiction, people who smoke only occasionally succumb mainly to social and environmental triggers. "The most powerful prompt is often being around people who are smoking," notes Michael Fiore, M.D., director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention.
WHY IT'S BAD: Lighting up even a few times a month is still poisoning yourself. "There's no lower limit of exposure to tobacco smoke that's safe," says Richard D. Hurt, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center. Just one cigarette can injure the walls of your blood vessels — which can lead to heart disease and blood clots. Looming in the background is the risk of developing a full-blown addiction. Some research suggests a quarter of "occasional" smokers go full-time.
BREAK THE HABIT: Benign cigarette substitutes can work wonders. Grab a drink stirrer and hold it between your fingers. Set it between your lips while you take out your wallet or phone. This keeps your mouth and hands busy. And carry nicotine gum or lozenges to help wean you off the addiction, Fiore says. Though healthier than cigs, they can be habit forming, so use restraint.
Vegging Out Every Night
Once or twice a week, it's totally OK to grab some snacks and fire up the plasma in the evening. But every night? Bad habit. "People who are under high levels of stress and who may not have a large network of friends are prone to isolating themselves after work," says Leonard Jason, Ph.D., a DePaul University psychologist who studies the challenges of breaking bad habits. "Eventually, it becomes their default."
WHY IT'S BAD: People can consume up to 71 percent more food while they're glued to the tube, so it's no surprise that watching more than 19 hours a week increases your odds of being overweight by 97 percent, according to a Belgian study. And TV is not an ideal way to engage your brain. For every hour beyond 80 minutes that you watch daily, your risk of developing Alzheimer's increases by 30 percent, say researchers at Case Western Reserve University.
BREAK THE HABIT: Decide which shows are must-see, then record them and watch later: Zipping through the commercials can cut about half an hour off every two hours of couch time. And at least three times a week, make after-work plans that specifically involve being with other people, whether it's meeting a few friends for dinner, taking a class, or joining a recreational sports team.