3 Everyday Lifestyle Tips to Avoid Injury

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You might have heard the saying that most accidents happen in the home, and found yourself scratching your head, and wondering exactly what people were doing to get so injured, so often, in their own living spaces.

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Part of the reason why people frequently get injured in the home is simply because we all spend so much of our time in our homes. Another reason, however, is because we are complacent and comfortable in our home, and are more likely to let our guard down.

There are many different situations in life that we all encounter on a regular basis, that can lead to injury, and that can consequently have a negative impact on your quality of life going forward. It’s important to be mindful of these risk factors, and to do what you can to minimise them, if you don’t want to have a chronic injury hanging over your head for the foreseeable future.

Here are a few everyday lifestyle tips and suggestions you can implement, in order to avoid injury, or at least reduce your risk of becoming injured.

Focus on less frequent, high-intensity, carefully structured workouts

A lot of people are into long-distance running, partly because they believe that participating in marathons, and spending as much time as possible “hitting the road” will make them healthier, happier, and overall better versions of themselves.

There is, however, a pretty compelling case to be made that long-distance running is one of the worst things you can do for your body, for various reasons. For one thing, distance running is hell on your joints, and the proportion of runners who suffer from knee and ankle injuries, among other things, is sky high compared to other forms of exercise.

For another thing, long-distance running emphasises one element of cardiovascular metabolism, while neglecting others. Distance running also skyrockets your stress hormone production, and leads to muscle wasting.

The doctor, Doug McGuff, has written a book entitled “Body by Science,” where he argues that performing a once-weekly, high-intensity, slow-paced weightlifting routine, actually yields superior cardiovascular, metabolic, and health benefits to most forms of exercise, without the corresponding injury risk.

At the very least, it’s worth looking into what he has to say, and considering switching up your exercise routine if you regularly do drawn out, explosive training sessions.

Limit your exposure to loud noises, and get a pair of earplugs for concerts

An enormous number of people live with tinnitus, because they’ve damaged their hearing through exposure to loud noises, without realising how easy it was to do. In fact, causes of tinnitus range from simply being near a speeding train, to attending a couple of concerts without ear protection. Even short-term exposure to loud noises can lead to permanent hearing damage and a perpetual low-level ringing in your ears.

To reduce the risk of injury to your hearing, take some steps to limit your exposure to loud noises. If you work in a noisy environment, or are going to attend a concert, look into getting a pair of professional noise cancelling earplugs.

If you’re just hanging out at home, make sure that the headphones you use at your computer never have the volume turned up too high.

If in doubt, err on the side of caution. And don’t feel embarrassed about wearing earplugs to a concert, either. Many experienced musicians are now doing it, and publicly stating that they wish they’d started a long time ago.

Get more sleep

Sleep is absolutely critical for overall good health. Research has shown that people who don’t sleep enough have massively compromised immune function, and are at an increased likelihood of suffering from every conceivable disease, ranging from cancer, to cardiovascular issues.

But getting more sleep isn’t just a matter of improving your overall health. It can also be a key to reducing your risk of overall injury in life.

Consider what makes people accident-prone. A large part of the equation is always going to be clumsiness, motivated by inattention, which is in turn due to sleep deprivation.

Research has shown that sleep-deprived subjects drive cars more dangerously than well-rested subjects who are drunk. Clearly, getting more sleep can help to stop you crashing into things.

Improve your time-management skills, and pace yourself

Many accidents, in the home and elsewhere, happen because people allow themselves to end up being strapped for time, and then race against the clock recklessly to try and make their appointments.

Speeding – on foot, or in a car – makes you more careless, sloppy, and accident-prone.

Work on improving your time-management skills, and pace yourself. Do things systematically, rather than frantically, and your accident risk goes down significantly.