Throughout 2025, medical professionals across India sounded a consistent alarm. Their concern wasn't primarily about rare diseases or extreme lifestyles, but about the subtle, everyday routines that have silently woven themselves into modern life. These normalised patterns, repeated daily, are now seen as significant threats to long-term wellness, quietly increasing the risk of chronic conditions. Doctors spent the year advocating for a preventive rethink of these choices, focusing on how small, consistent actions shape the body's resilience against stress, ageing, and illness.
The Top 5 Concerning Habits Highlighted by Medical Experts
Based on repeated warnings from specialists in fields like cardiology, gastroenterology, and neurology, a clear list of detrimental habits emerged. These are the routines that Indian healthcare practitioners urged the public to reassess most frequently in 2025.
1. Night-Time Doom-Scrolling and Screen Use
The habit of using phones or other screens right before sleep, often involving endless scrolling through social media or news feeds, was flagged as highly disruptive. Dr. Adithya V. Naragund, a senior consultant in GI & HPB Surgery at Cytecare Hospitals, explained the science behind the warning. He noted that the gut and brain are in constant communication via nerves, immune cells, and hormones. The blue light emitted from devices at night tricks the brain into thinking it is still daytime, which delays the release of melatonin.
Melatonin is crucial not only for regulating sleep timing but also for digestive rhythms. Chronic disruption of this cycle harms circadian rhythm, degrades sleep quality, and is linked to increased anxiety, poor concentration, and gut disturbances.
2. Consuming Dinner Too Late
Late-evening meals were one of the most frequently cited concerns. Nutritionists and gastroenterologists warned that heavy or late dinners delay gastric emptying, can trigger acid reflux, and interfere with the body's essential overnight repair and maintenance processes.
Ashlesha Joshi, a fitness dietician and nutritionist at Tone 30 Pilates, provided a metabolic perspective. She stated that the body's digestive efficiency naturally slows after sunset, and glucose tolerance decreases. Therefore, consistently eating after 8 PM over several months means more of the energy from that meal is likely to be stored as fat instead of being burned for fuel. This habit shortens sleep cycles, hurts metabolic health, and raises the long-term risk of weight gain and blood sugar imbalances.
3. Extended Periods of Sitting and Physical Inactivity
The adage "prolonged sitting is the new smoking" gained serious medical backing this year. Doctors emphasised how uninterrupted sitting slows metabolism, reduces blood circulation, stiffens joints, and elevates the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Dhinesh David, Consultant in the Department of Cardiology at KIMSHEALTH Trivandrum, gave a striking statistic: Metabolism slows by nearly 30% when sitting compared to standing or walking. This slowdown can lead to weight gain and the deposition of fat in arteries, causing atherosclerosis. Alarmingly, even for individuals who exercise daily, long sedentary workdays were found to blunt the benefits of their workouts if frequent movement breaks were not incorporated.
4. Maintaining an Irregular Sleep Schedule
Experts stressed that both the quantity *and* the consistency of sleep are vital. Neurologist Dr. Sudhir Kumar, MD, DM, outlined the average daily sleep needs by age on social media platform X: newborns (14-17 hours), infants (12-16 hours), young children (10-14 hours), school-aged children (9-12 hours), teenagers (8-10 hours), and adults (7-9 hours).
Public health intellectual Dr. Hiremath warned that failing to get the recommended hours can lead to reduced concentration, slower reaction times, mood disturbances, and a weakened immune system. The key takeaway was that erratic sleep and wake times can be as harmful as simply not sleeping enough.
5. Over-Dependence on Ultra-Processed Foods
A major concern raised across medical specialities was the growing reliance on ready-to-eat and ultra-processed food items. The issue is not the occasional packaged snack, but when these foods become the staple of daily diets.
Dr. Raj Kumar, a senior consultant in Non-invasive Cardiology at PSRI Hospital, connected gut health to heart health. He explained that an unhealthy gut can produce toxins that enter the bloodstream, increasing inflammation and raising the risk of heart disease. Conversely, a diet rich in fibre from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains feeds healthy gut bacteria. Including probiotic foods like yoghurt or fermented items can further improve gut balance, offering a protective effect.
A Collective Call for Conscious Daily Choices
The unified message from India's medical community in 2025 was clear: long-term health is profoundly influenced by the small, repeated decisions of daily life. The warnings about late-night scrolling, late dinners, prolonged sitting, irregular sleep, and processed foods are not about instilling fear, but about empowering prevention. By consciously re-evaluating and adjusting these normalised habits, individuals can take significant, proactive steps toward sustaining their health and well-being for years to come.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information from the public domain and expert insights. Always consult your healthcare practitioner before making any significant changes to your routine.
