These 11 Habits Make You Look Much Older Than You Are

People are vain, and nobody wants to look older than they actually are. You take care to cover up the gray hair and wear a hat to keep from accruing any more wrinkles, yet you’re probably still doing little things that you never dreamed were making you look older.

Look over the list of 11 items below that can prematurely age you, and see how you’re doing. Consider what things you may want to change to keep from adding more wrinkles to your skin.

1. Night owl. Even for the young, skipping sleep isn’t healthy. As you age, MSN says that skipping necessary sleep will simply add to the dark circles and bags under your eyes, making you look even older.

2. Bitterness. Holding onto old hurts never damages the person who wronged you, but it will harm you. MSN points out that the bitterness that grows from not forgiving past wrongs increases your cortisol output, which decreases your sleep – resulting in bags and circles.

3. Stress. Stress takes its toll on the body, increasing your blood pressure and reducing your brain function. Prevention recommends finding ways to manage your stress so you don’t feel old before your time.

4. Sugar. Dessert used to be a luxury, but today, people want to eat it all the time. MSN shares the fact that too much sugar creates problems as you get older. It can cause diabetes, acne and wrinkles. You may want to consider passing on the dessert on occasion.

5. Fruits and veggies. Not eating fruits and vegetables daily will prematurely age you, according to Prevention. The antioxidants from them are short-lived, however, so you have to be disciplined about eating them regularly.

6. No fat. The no-fat/low-fat fad is another premature ager. The issue is that you may be forgetting your body needs the good omega-3 fats and monosaturated fats. Prevention says to be sure to take in the healthy fats even as you cut the unhealthy ones.

7. Alcohol. Although a glass of red wine is supposed to be good for your heart, too much alcohol can be bad for your overall health. MSN says that if you don’t want to prematurely age yourself, men should limit themselves to one to two drinks a day, and ladies to one drink a day.

8. Smoking. With all the warnings that are put out today, people are aware of the dangers of smoking. It makes your skin look older; affects your voice, teeth, and nails; and causes premature death. If you are a smoker, MSN shares that the sooner you quit, the longer your life expectancy will be.

9. iPods. Loud noises will eventually cause hearing loss. In this technological age, people love to wear headphones with their iPods and MP3s. To keep from being the old granny that says, “Eh? What’s that, Sonny?” Prevention recommends keeping the volume as low as possible on your devices and to save your hearing.

10. Sitting. Sitting is the silent killer. According to abc NEWS, unless you want to add 10 to 13 years to your life, make a point to get up and move around regularly. Don’t be satisfied with sitting all day at work and all night when you get home.

11. Tanning. Another no-no is sitting out to tan. Everyone knows that tanning is bad for the skin and makes you look old prematurely. You faithfully put on your makeup or face lotion with sunscreen in it. The question is how well you take care of the rest of your body. Don’t forget that your arms and hands see just as much, or more, sun than your face. Oprah recommends making sure you use protection on them as well.

You don’t have to just give up and accept that wrinkles are a part of life. Check over what you’re doing and see what changes need to be made. A few little adjustments may add years to your life.