Although practicing good hygiene seems like the easiest thing to do, many people are still getting ill and experiencing a myriad of emotional, mental, and physical problems often due to poor hygiene. Believe it or not, improving your personal hygiene can improve your relationships, mood, and even keep you from contracting serious illnesses. If you’re ready to improve your personal hygiene, here’re the top five practices you should consider starting with:
Wash your hands frequently – even when you don’t have a reason to do so
The hands are one of the biggest reasons why spreading germs is very easy. Therefore, washing your hands frequently can help you reduce your chances of ingesting a contaminant. Of course, you should always wash your hands after going to the bathroom, after getting into contact with a sick person, and before eating your food. However, given the fact that more contaminants are found in places we don’t even suspect, such as rails, doorknobs, table surfaces, and shared items, such as microphones and pens, it’s always a good idea to wash your hands often. If you don’t have soap and water nearby, you can use high-quality hand sanitizer.
Brush and floss your teeth often
Dental hygiene is not just important to help you prevent bad breath, tooth cavities, and keep your teeth white. It is also important when it comes to preventing serious health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Just brushing your teeth twice a day may not be enough. You need to make sure you are using the right techniques to brush your teeth, and fluoride toothpaste. To brush properly, simply move the toothbrush back and forth in short, gentle strokes. Make sure you tilt the brush in a vertical position and make a few up-down strokes to clean the inside surfaces of the front teeth. Generally, ensure all the outer and inner surfaces are fully covered. After brushing, floss your teeth to make sure you reach areas between your teeth that a regular brush cannot reach.
Shower regularly
You don’t need to wait until you feel sweaty or detect an unpleasant smell coming from your body to take a shower. Rather, make it a habit to shower or bath at least once every day to keep yourself free from as many contaminants as possible. You can choose to shower every morning before going out or in the evening before going to sleep. When you finish showering, make sure you rinse your entire body thoroughly, while putting more focus on your underarms and genital areas, as they perspire more often, and are more susceptible to fungal activities. If you don’t have time to shower for one reason or another consider carrying body wipes with you to help give you a refresh throughout the day.
Wash your hair and trim your nails often
The hair and nails are some of the best hiding places for dirt, grease, and germs. The hair is often considered a great breeding ground for bacteria and an efficient way to attracting and harbor contaminants. On the other hand, the nails are good at storing all manner of germs from different surfaces, and the longer the nails, the more the chances of storing these harmful particles. Practicing good hair and nail hygiene can help you prevent food poisoning, the spread of diseases, and even make you more attractive and confident. All you need to do to practice good nail and hair hygiene is to trim your nails often, such as once a week, and wash your hair at least twice a week to keep them clean.
Clean your office and home surfaces
Keeping our offices and homes clean is not just important to keep our spaces inviting and physically appealing. It can reduce our trips to the doctor’s office and protect people around us from suffering respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, and other health problems.
Make it a habit to clean and disinfect all your office and home surfaces, such as the tables, floors, countertops, desks, and chairs at least three times per week to keep the dust and germs away.
Although practicing good hygiene sounds easy, it’s one of those things we fail terribly in. If you want to protect and improve your health, be sure to improve your hygiene today by practicing the habits above as we’ve discussed.
