November 27, 2025 : We often focus on the obvious health risks like smoking or drinking, but some everyday habits can quietly harm our bodies even more. Dr Manan Vora, a Mumbai-based orthopaedic surgeon and health educator, warns that one common practice could be deadlier than both smoking and drinking, significantly raising the risk of serious health issues.
Can stress be more dangerous than smoking or drinking
“Alcohol and cigarettes will not kill you. What will kill you is stress,” says Dr Manan. “Your body releases cortisol and adrenaline, that’s stress, when you feel bogged down, low, and drained.”
Most people don’t realise that stress isn’t just mental. “It’s a full-body reaction,” Dr Vora explains. “Watch for signals your body sends you, back pain, tension headaches, knots in the muscles, tight shoulders, and grinding teeth. When you are under pressure, your body tenses up under the stress you experience every day.”
How sleep help your body fight stress
He warns that the danger compounds without proper sleep. “Without deeply restorative sleep, your body never gets the chance to fully restore. Skipping those 7 to 8 hours means you’re carrying yesterday’s tension into today and adding today’s pressure on top of it. Day after day, it compounds.”
Dr Vora emphasises the importance of sleep as the body’s reset mechanism. “Deep restorative sleep is your body’s only real reset. That’s when stress hormones drop, muscles finally relax, and tissues repair themselves. You realise it’s not just in the mind but also impacts the body.”
Summary:
A Mumbai orthopaedic surgeon warned that prolonged sitting can be more dangerous than smoking or drinking, increasing risks of heart disease, obesity, and early death.