15 Habits All Twenty-Something's Should Adopt

Exercising regularly is a great way to preserve your body, decrease depression and increase your sex appeal. Regular exercise preserves your youthful look but more importantly keeps you internally healthy by reducing stress, blood pressure and cholesterol.

If you haven’t heard, smoking is bad. On top of the severe health risks of smoking, it also increases premature aging and gives you yellow teeth.

Young people tend to think they are healthy and strong. But it’s important for young people to get annual physicals. This is especially true for women who should be seeing a gynecologist annually.

You are what you eat. When your young it’s easier to take weight off. As you age, your metabolism slows down making it much more difficult to lose those extra pounds. Do your body a favor and fill it with nutritious whole foods.

Your skin is the largest organ of your body which is often neglected. Too many young people are ignorant to skin cancer. Your tan may look sexy for a few weeks, but the long term side effects of getting too much sun include, skin cancer and premature aging. Yuck.

There are some pretty scary sexually transmitted diseases out there. The last thing you want to do early in your life is contract an STD that you have to treat for the rest of your life. Unprotected sex also leads to pregnancy which can put a hold on your future plans. Condoms are cheap and sometimes even free, use them.

Young people don’t get enough sleep. Your body recharges and rejuvenates itself only while you sleep. Aim to get 6-8 hours every night.

Posture needs to be corrected in your early twenties to prevent future problems down the road. Bad posture can cause pain, health risks and just looks ugly. By making a few changes now, you can prevent a hunch back later in life.

As you age, your bones weaken. It’s critical for young people to build strong healthy bones before their thirties. Activities such as weight training, hiking, biking and running are a great way to build bone mass. Women may also consider taking a calcium supplement as osteoporosis can set in as early as thirty five.

Young people have a difficult time managing stress. Stress can cause serious health conditions and also is the cause of some physiological disorders.

Your smile says a lot about you. You only get one set of adult teeth so take care of them. Brush your teeth twice daily for a minimum of two minutes. Get regular cleanings to prevent tooth decay. Don't forget to floss and brush your gums as well. Strong healthy gums will help prevent tooth loss and gum disease.

This is a hard one for young people to understand. Alcohol is synonymous with the youth culture. But excessive alcohol use will prematurely age you and can lead so some pretty serious diseases. Keep your drinking in moderation, never drive after drinking and never get in a car with someone who has been drinking. A DUI/DWI will ruin you for at least ten years or worse.

Too many twenty-something’s make poor financial decisions. Living paycheck to paycheck is a bad habit to form. Do yourself a favor and create a checking and savings account. Setup a scheduled transfer to push money into your savings account after you receive a paycheck. Never touch your savings account, the money you put in your nest egg should be used for emergencies only. Open some lines of credit, but be sure to pay your bills in time. It’s very important to build your credit score in your twenties.

Investing in real estate is also a good idea if you can afford it. It's wise to build equity rather than paying rent each month and throwing your money away. If you do buy a house, plan on owning it for a minimum of five years.

Having connections opens a lot of opportunity later in life. Network with people in your area, make new friends and invest your time into your relationships.

Knowledge is power, and it usually correlates to financial success as well. Each day you should be challenging yourself to learn something new. Expand your horizons, read new books and take up hobbies that you’ve always had an interest in. If you don’t have a college degree, now is the time to get it. The job market continues to become more and more competitive; a high school degree just doesn’t cut it. Study a field that interests you, but also have a high demand in the job market. Find your passion in life, and then master it. Never settle with the knowledge you have, you can always be smarter.