Common Life Hacks That Are Actually Bad For You

We often find ourselves cutting corners here and there to make it easier to get through the day.

This might include giving our teeth a quick brush and skipping flossing or loading the dishwasher without first rinsing off our dishes.

However, some life hacks have become almost gospel, rules that people devotedly live by.

If they were to take a closer look at these highly recommended life hacks and the effect they've had on them, they might find themselves re-evaluating their entire way of life.

Redditor Ashley_Ivory was curious to learn which highly recommended life hacks people might want to reconsider following, leading them to ask:

"What are some commonly recommended life hacks, which are actually wrong or bad?"

"Sleeping less for success."

"Sleeping less and hustle more can lead into burnout, health issues, cognitive function."

"Sleep is essential for mental health and well being of a person."- RavishingMistressVib

Stopping Isn't Always Quitting

"Don’t quit, keep pushing no matter what."

"Sometimes in life you need to understand when to throw in the towel and walk away."- JD054

...Do People Actually Do This?

"Do not put your toaster sideways to make cheese toast as some life hacks suggest."

"It is a fire hazard."- TheBassMeister

the brave little toaster GIFGiphy

Just Step One Of Many...

"The advice I see on Reddit about asking for an itemized receipt is incomplete."

"Asking for an itemized receipt does not automatically drop the total cost."

"Instead, asking for an itemized receipt allows you to identify line items that don't make sense, don't apply to you, or weren't rendered."

"For instance, I was charged a materials delivery fee as part of a home renovation project, even though I transported all the materials to my home myself."

"Since the service was not rendered, I got that cost stricken from my total, but I had to first identify it manually and draw attention to it--it didn't just automatically go away when I asked for the itemized receipt."- ChuushaHime

Always Best Not To Wait...

"I saw one the other day that said if you are lost in an unfamiliar location needing rescue and your battery is about to die, change your voicemail to include your approximate location."

"Then people who call will be able to determine where you are after listening to the voicemail."

"Things that are very wrong with this advice:"

"Many people can go days without getting a phone call."

"It you don’t answer the phone, most people probably won’t listen to the voicemail greeting."

"What you should do, if possible, is send one of your contacts your approximate location. GPS coordinates work."

"And always call 911."- GreenGrandmaPoops

Honesty Is Always The Best Policy... Or Is It?

"Tell the truth 99% of the time."

"Then when you have that credibility, you can lie and people will believe you."- Narrow_Cattle6428

Not Lying Jennifer Coolidge GIF by Golden GlobesGiphy

There's A Reason People Throw Their Eggs In One Basket

"'Multitasking makes you more productive'."

"Actually, multitasking tends to make you worse at everything you’re trying to do."

"You end up scattered, doing a mediocre job on each thing instead of really focusing and excelling at one task."

"If you need to get stuff done, block out distractions and tackle things one at a time."- LyannaLL

When In Doubt, Treat People The Way You Want To Be Treated

"I always see people on reddit say that coworkers are not friends and to not develop friendships with them."

"Why?"

"That's literally the worst advice I've seen parrotted here."

"Like don't be a degenerate in front of them but developing friendly relationships with the people you see for a 1/4 of your life is normal and not problematic."- MasterVader420

Be Nice To Your Back!

"I used to sell mattresses and commonly had customers who believed that the harder their mattress, the better it was for them."

"Untrue."

"If you lay down and you're comfortable, then it's a good mattress."

"You don't need to sleep on a slab of stone for health benefits."

"Also, it's a pain, but turning your mattress every now and them is good for its long term health."- hetep-di-isfet

Tired Toronto Raptors GIF by Endy MattressGiphy

It's What's Inside That Counts

"That bullsh*t one about how we've all been 'opening bananas wrong' because we don't do it upside down like chimps."

"It literally doesn't f*cking matter."

"The banana opens easily the way I do it and I'm going to keep doing it that way."- Aquatico_

Best Let Nature Run Its Course...

"Any kind of 'cleanse' diet or item."

"Your body already does that."

"Colonics, shakes, fasts, etc don't 'cleanse' anything better than what your actual biology can do."- hovermole

"Strength Lies In Nights Of Peaceful Slumbers"

"The 'just sleep less' advice to be more productive is terrible."

"Lack of sleep affects health and focus, making you less efficient in the long run."- Conscious_Permit_703

Tired Good Morning GIF by PeanutsGiphy

Most Importantly, Just Drink Water

"The idea that drinking cold water burns calories comes from the fact that your body uses energy to heat the water to body temperature, but the amount is minimal (around 8 calories per glass)."- verykitty05

Even If It Does Work For Silver...

"Using toothpaste to clean your phone screen is a big nope."

"It can scratch your screen and leave it worse off."- pleasant_girlfriendo

Soreness Is One Thing...

"No Pain - No Gain."

"Pain is the bodies way of telling you that you are damaged."- nevermindaboutthaton

Family Guy Pain GIFGiphy

Many people treat sayings and idioms like vintage wine, believing something old must be worthwhile.

However, truly savvy wine connoisseurs would know that being vintage doesn't always guarantee it will taste good.

So, if a life hack seems to be making your life more difficult, then it's probably time to shift gears...