Living an unhealthy life not only affects your well being, it actually has a big impact on your wallet. Here are 3 ways your health may affect finances at home!

Stress

Stress can be a helpful and powerful motivator in life if you’re writing a paper for school that’s due the next day or working on a project for a potential client. However, most of the stress in our lives is the negative kind. We’re worried about relationships, our careers, and the world around us. And according to researchers, more than half of us are worried about money. Whether you’re stressing over saving for retirement, paying off a credit card bill or finding the money to just put food on the table, your health can suffer because of your worrying.

Stress has been linked to a variety of ailments, including anxiety, depression, diabetes, hair loss, heart disease, hyperthyroidism, obesity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and ulcers. In that AP-AOL survey, those in debt were seven times more likely to suffer from anxiety and five times more likely to be depressed.

Sleep

We all know how important sleep is. Getting a good night’s rest allows you to be ready to tackle the next day’s challenges. Not getting enough sleep leads to decreased productivity and alertness. This can lead to poorer performance on the job which affects your chances of moving up. Sleep deprivation can also lead to increased chances of getting sick which will cause you to miss work. That will also hurt your chances at the next big promotion. Lack of sleep can also lead to poor decision-making which can have damaging financial consequences. Poor decision making can cause impulse buying which definitely affects your bottom-line. Top performers in business and athletics always understand the importance of sleep. Being awake 24 hours is said to be the equivalent of having a blood-alcohol content of .1% over the legal limit. That’s scary! 

Excercise

A healthy lifestyle is comprised of more than eating well. To optimize your health, physical fitness is essential. The following benefits of exercise can lower your life insurance premiums and the extreme cost of health insurance or prescriptions.

  • Weight loss. Any physical activity burns calories – exercise, taking the stairs, even walking the dog. The more vigorous the activity, the more calories are burned. When the number of calories burned is greater than the number of calories ingested, you lose weight. Having a healthier weight allows you to do more at a faster pace.
  • Prevention of heart disease and other medical conditions. Exercise boosts the production of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) and decreases triglyceride levels. This combination keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which in turn reduces your risk of developing heart disease. When exercise increases your blood flow it allows you to be more focused and have a clear mind.

A habit of regular exercise will help keep you mentally sharper throughout your entire life. As you age, your body generates fewer and fewer brain cells (a process called neurogenesis). However, early research in mice suggests that exercise can help prevent this slowdown. In other words, by the time they reach their 50s, 60s, and 70s, people who exercise might have more brain cells than their more sedentary peers — giving them a major advantage in the workplace.