15 Bad Habits that Are Actually Good for Your Health

Kids fidgeting in a movieBy Brenda Kearns

Ditch the guilt! These health "hazards" can banish fatigue, ease depression, speed weight loss and more.

Fidgeting and Squirming
Fidget, pace, bounce a foot, twirl your hair, fiddle with the phone cord...those small muscle movements act like exercise, burning off damaging stress hormones during tense times, says cardiologist Stephen Sinatra, M.D., author of Reverse Heart Disease Now. And research at Rochester's Mayo Clinic suggests that people who fidget a lot increase their fat-burning metabolic rate by as much as 40 percent. The reason: Constant body movements stimulate the brain's release hormones that boost your ability to burn stored fat for energy.

Gossiping
Spending 20 minutes chatting with a trusted friend about other people's news (and, yes, even their minor misfortunes) helps 96 percent of people squash feelings of stress, tension and anxiety for up to four hours straight, say researchers at Rhode Island's Brown University. Even better? Women who spread positive, uplifting gossip found their depression alleviated by up to 72 percent within three months. "Speaking positively about others stimulates women's natural bonding instincts," explains Scott Haltzman, M.D., author of The Secrets of Happy Families. "And that revs up your brain's production of powerful, mood-elevating antidepressant hormones." See, it pays to be nice!

Eating Donuts for Breakfast
Cookies? Sure! Pie? Why not?! Research at Virginia Commonwealth University shows that women who focus on a hearty, filling breakfast without worrying about a.m. calories can lose at least three times more weight than those loyally devoted to their bran flakes. Yes, even if they eat sweets! A hearty morning meal that finishes with a little treat actually prods the brain to produce lots of mood-boosting serotonin during the day, explains lead researcher Daniela Jacubowicz, M.D., author of The Big Breakfast Diet. "And serotonin dampens hunger pangs, cuts carb cravings in half and speeds fat-burning by 25 percent for 11 hours or more."

Procrastinating
Almost 75 percent of women put off their to-dos once in a while -- and one in four do it daily, according to a study at Canada's University of Calgary. And it turns out those breaks for Angry Bird may be beneficial to their health! Research at Germany's University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf suggests that taking a restful break from the bedlam (to check out Facebook or Pinterest, read funny e-mails) boosts production of compounds that nix aches and pains in as little as eight minutes. Study authors suggest breaking up tedious tasks with several short breaks (instead of one long one) so the painkilling effect can last all day.

Not Cleaning Up After Dinner
Don't feel guilty about not keeping the place pristine clean. Regularly scouring your kitchen with antibacterial sprays can actually increase your risk of being exposed to dangerous drug-resistant bugs, say University of Michigan researchers. What gives? While those sprays can kill some germs, they are useless against the feistiest, truly dangerous ones -- which grow like wildfire once the weaker bugs aren't there to crowd them out. To play it safe, simply wipe down surfaces with regular dish soap and hot water after cooking. Then, once weekly, quick spritz with bleach, which destroys even drug-resistant bugs in less than 60 seconds, suggest Tufts University researchers.

To read the other ten habits, click here!

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