Buzz
It's completely natural to feel irritated now and then—whether it's from exhaustion, a noisy environment, traffic jams, or even when someone takes credit for your work. In situations like being stuck in traffic, there's little we can do to change the situation; all we can control is how we react. However, many of our daily habits can impact our mood, and some of these behaviors have become so habitual that we may not even notice them.
Here are some habits that could be unknowingly making you more irritable, along with ways to address them.
Spending the entire day indoors without stepping outside
As someone who loves nature, it's hard to admit this, but there are days when I hardly step outside, except for the quick walk to the bus stop or to pick up my child from daycare. Unfortunately, staying indoors all day can negatively affect our mood. The lack of natural light disrupts our internal circadian 'clock,' as Kenneth Wright, director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder, explained to Time. To counteract this, we should aim to get outside every day, weather permitting, ideally for about 45 minutes in the morning.
Skipping lunch
You’ve probably heard this one before, but really, have you had breakfast today? What about lunch? Did you eat as soon as you felt hungry, or did you delay it until your hunger became unbearable? According to the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, “It is well known that unhealthy eating patterns can cause mood swings. Blood sugar fluctuations and nutritional imbalances are often the culprits.”
As WebMD explains, “When your blood sugar drops, your body works to raise it. It releases epinephrine (adrenaline), a 'fight or flight' hormone that causes your heart to race and your palms to sweat. This can leave you feeling irritable and anxious.” If this persists, your body will release the 'stress hormone' cortisol. “Combine adrenaline and cortisol, and you’ve got a recipe for anxiety.”
If you find yourself often skipping meals during your workday, try setting a timer, asking someone to hold you accountable, or adding reminders to your calendar to snack and eat regularly before irritability starts to creep in.
Being overly responsive to our phones
According to a study conducted in 2015 by Deloitte, Americans across all age groups checked their phones an average of 46 times per day. (If you listen to Reviews.org, that figure is much higher, at 344 times per day, with 70% of people of Americans checking their phones within five minutes of receiving a notification.) But all these distractions divert our attention, concentration, and focus, leading to feelings of overwhelm.
As psychiatrist Dr. Timothy Jeider told the Huffington Post, “After we have gone down the rabbit hole, we kick ourselves for getting distracted and wasting time, which frustrates us, undermines our focus and productivity, so we seek out a distraction from frustration, and the cycle of mini-frustrations repeats, building on the last.” When putting your phone on “do not disturb” isn’t enough to curb the urge to check every ding and vibration, place your phone in another room.
Reading or watching emotionally draining things before bed
Whether it’s doom-scrolling social media and taking on the the mental shrapnel of the day’s latest depressing news or watching the latest installment of your favorite true crime series, both can take a toll on your mood. While it won’t have the same affect on everyone, for some, the unsettled feeling we get from watching emotionally taxing TV or reading disturbing news stories lingers well into those hours we should be sleeping.
Consider limiting your news and social media intake to just two or three set times during the day, or establish a “no news after 6 p.m.” policy (or another time that gives your mind several hours to unwind before bed).
Drinking too close to bedtime
No, alcohol doesn’t improve your sleep. While it may initially make you feel relaxed and help you fall asleep, it disrupts rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is the most rejuvenating phase. “The immediate and short-term effect of alcohol is to shorten the time it takes to fall asleep, and this could explain why some people with insomnia turn to alcohol as a sleep aid,” says Irshaad Ebrahim, the medical director at the London Sleep Centre. “However, this benefit is countered by more interrupted sleep later in the night.”
Since alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, it can intensify symptoms of depression. If you enjoy an evening drink, consider having it right after work instead of close to bedtime.
