Dangerous habits
Health & Fitness By KEMI ILORI
Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Medical statistics have shown that there is a trade off between ill-health and dangerous habits. You may wonder; how? Well, people who suffer from ill-health, may die from their affliction sooner or later. It would have been expected that healthy people will be able to live very long; some do. It has, however, been shown that there is a statistical balancing.

Some healthy people engage in dangerous habits, just for the joy of living (obviously because they are healthy and able to do so). As a result, some people who would have otherwise lived longer; die as a result of their dangerous habits and this tilts the statistical balance, making the lifespan of both healthy and unhealthy people close. Now, do not forget that statistics is about average measurements. There will be people at both ends of the spectrum who defy the assumption. Now what is the point of all this grammer?!! Simple – Dangerous habits may shorten lifespan.

What are dangerous habits? These are activities we engage in on a regular basis which may be detrimental to our health. Despite the above statistics, there are dangerous habits which both healthy and unhealthy people indulge in. The two most common examples are drinking of alcohol and smoking. The latter includes all smokable substances like marijuana, other substance abuse, etc. Other dangerous habits vary from sex addiction (tending towards indiscriminate and unprotected sex), to passion for dangerous sports, like mountain climbing, motorbike racing, motor racing, etc.

The former, has as its driving force, one of the seven deadly sins described by Mahatma Ghandi "Pleasure without conscience". Its cornerstone is illicit sex. There are arguments in favour of it, but in these modern days, the fear of disease has reinforced its designation as a dangerous habit. Nonetheless, it is probably the most common dangerous habit in our midst. It is interesting to note that extreme dangerous sports, are not popular in our country. These include sports like bungee jumping, scuba-diving, hang-gliding, sky-diving (jumping out of a plane), etc.

These are highly addictive habit forming sports for the initiated. People who form a habit of engaging in dangerous sports have been described as "Stress Junkies". The low penetration of dangerous sports in Nigeria may be due to lack of both funds and facilities to do them. Nigerians are also very conservative with their fun (they like themselves too much). A rich man will probably annex more wives or mistresses, rather than take up scuba-diving, whilst a woman will accumulate jewelry (there are toy-boys now too, aren’t there?).

Notwithstanding, dangerous sports are now catching on here too. Motorbiking seems to be the selected sport. How do we distinguish between okada and the power bike riders? The power bikers are enjoying the thrill of riding their expensive toys, whilst okada riders are earning a living. Some okada riders enjoy the thrill of riding their motorbikes as well. I discovered this from a friend whose driver left to do the business. Apparently, he had been doing it part-time while working with her. When she asked him that, why was he leaving for such a dangerous job? He said: "Madam, when I am riding my okada, I feel on top of the world!".
Why do people indulge in dangerous habits?

It is simply because of the satisfaction they get from the excitement that they experience during the activity. The effect of Adrenalin; the fight or flight neurotransmitter that we release into the blood stream in emergency situations. A short burst of adrenaline that makes us feel on top of the world. The emotion, thrill and excitement experienced during dangerous sports give such a rush of exhilaration that the person wants to repeat it again and again. Little attention is paid to the inherent danger and it becomes insignificant in the face of satisfaction.

You have probably heard the modern day adaptation of the adage’ "Curiosity killed the cat." If you haven’t, then it is that "Satisfaction brought him back!". Of course, this is a lie; just an excuse to indulge. Satisfaction never brought back anything that is dead. Unlike other dangerous habits; the habit of taking on dangerous challenges is not common. Dangerous challenges include activities like climbing a mountain in record time or for the first time, swimming across a large river or water channel to prove a point, etc. Society also usually finds it unacceptable. When such people get hurt, pity is very scarce. A portion of Richard Branson’s autobiography, illustrates some peoples’ reaction to dangerous challenges. In his autobiography, "How I lost My Virginity", he had been lambasted by a woman as being spoilt and selfish for engaging in dangerous pursuits.

From the foregoing, the average Nigerian will probably consider himself quite benign where dangerous habits are concerned. So, what is your dangerous habit? If you do not have any then you are lucky. Research has also shown, that when people have less worries and a lot of disposable income, they tend to look for challenges or excitement. Does this mean that as we evolve into a more affluent society, that there will be more dangerous habits acquisition? My thinking is that this will be true for the younger sector of the population. As people grow older, they tend to slow down and be more careful. There is the popular Nigerian notion that people who have amassed a lot of wealth (ill-gotten or otherwise), tend to be careful because they do not want to die and leave all the money! This may be a tenable argument, but youth still plays a huge part in risk taking and the love of adventure.

Your family and dangerous habits: Drinking, smoking and substance abuse are dangerous habits which have well documented deleterious effects on our health. People should try not to even begin to cultivate these habits at all. Habits are difficult to stop. If they have done so; all the necessary support should be given to wean them off such habits. Youngsters should be discouraged from picking up dangerous habits, especially as a result of peer pressure.

Their energies should be channelled into more wholesome pursuits like mastering how to play instruments like the talking drum, piano, etc. Cerebral sports like chess, scrabble, building and designing of equipment. Tranquil and calming activities like landscaping and gardening, bird and nature watching, tending to and rearing domestic animals. In limited spaces, arts and crafts can be quite fulfilling. There is so much stress in modern day living that we do not need the additional adrenalin!