5 – Chewing Ice,
- Nothing’s as satisfying as finishing that glass of Coke and getting to munch on the leftover ice cubes. (Well, maybe popping bubble wrap, but that’s not nearly as easy to find.)
- Chewing on ice has been a thing since as far back as the Seventeenth Century. It’s usually a symptom of amenia or iron deficiency, but for some it’s a sexual fetish. Nowadays, it’s such a common habit that restaurant ice machines had to be redesigned so the ice they produced would be easier to chew.
- It’s not good, though. Chewing ice can damage your teeth, throat, tongue and stomach. It’s an example of a disorder called pica, which is where people crave things that have no nutritional value, like dirt, paint chips or clay.
4 – Social Media,
- Here’s an alarming statistic: thirteen percent of Americans have crippling addictions to social media. If your first instinct was to tweet your friends about this you may be in trouble. Social media addiction isn’t an officially recognised psychological condition, but it’s common enough to have experts worried.
- Social media addictions can cause heightened anxiety, lapses of concentration, sleep deprivation and something called ‘brain burnout’. Posts and updates come entirely at random, which affects our brains the same way cocaine does. When addicts are unable to check their social media accounts they experience FOMO or ‘fear of missing out’. We all know social media junkies who act like an internet outage is the literal end of the world.
- If you’re filling every spare moment with Facebook or Twitter, it might be worth taking a break and allowing your brain to process the huge amount of information it absorbs every day. Or you could watch some more Danger Dolan videos. Those are always good for you.
3 – Music,
- Music is basically crack for the brain. It can lift our mood, relax us, or even make us want to get down. But like with anything overindulging in it can cause problems.
- For instance, listening too long or too loud can damage your hearing. It can also distract you, making you less aware of your surroundings. And, of course, some people might be spending too much money purchasing new music.
- Music also affects our brains in interesting ways. Scientists have hooked music fans up to an MRI scanner and played them some super catchy pop songs. They discovered that the pleasure centres in the listeners’ brains lit up like Christmas trees. This is because the brain really loves trying to predict a melody as you listen along. Anticipating changes in the melody gives the brain a little thrill, and it goes absolutely ape shit when a catchy hook comes along, spraying dopamine everywhere like it’s champagne.
2 – Exercise,
- This one proves it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Some people enjoy the rush of endorphins that comes after a hard workout so much that they actually develop an exercise compulsion.
- I know, I know, frequent exercise might seem like a good thing, but ignoring the body’s cries for rest can lead to injury or illness. Then there’s the psychological effects. Some people throw themselves into exercise as a way to escape whatever problems they’re facing. They crave that sweet ‘runner’s high’ and actually become irritable and experience withdrawals if they don’t get their fix.
- Obsessive exercising can also jeopardise relationships, as it’s a sign your priorities may be out of whack. Okay, so gym junkies can be a little thick sometimes. I’ll spell it out: stop doing push-ups and listen to your partner when they tell you about their day! You want your tombstone to read ‘Here lies Joe, loving husband, father, and friend to all’, not ‘Here lies Joe, a guy who freaking ran a lot’.
1 – Smartphones,
- Do you ignore your dinner guests to check your emails, respond to texts or dick around on your favourite app? Congratulations! You’re like most of modern society! These days, the majority of the population has a smartphone on them at all times, and studies show that thirteen percent of users have full-blown clinical addictions.
- People nowadays check their phones every few minutes, and the average user spends four hours a day glued to their tiny screen. But worse still phone addicts get distracted every few seconds simply by the impulse to check their phone. They don’t even have to have received any actual notifications!
- Using your phone too much also messes with your sleep, rewires your brain and weakens your ability to concentrate.
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