“Sleep With My Bedroom Door Open”: First Responders Advise To Never Do These 65 Things If You Like Your Life

While many of the things listed here are definitely scary, dangerous, and even fatal, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are actually the leading culprits when it comes to lives getting cut short. These include heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic lung disease, and the World Health Organization (WHO) says collectively, NCDs are responsible for 74% of all fatalities worldwide.

According to a fact sheet published by the global health body, cardiovascular diseases claimed at least 19 million lives in 2021, followed by cancers (10 million), chronic respiratory diseases (4 million), and diabetes (over 2 million, including kidney disease deaths caused by diabetes).

If you don't want to fall victim to an NCD - or at least want to lessen your chances - WHO advises you to avoid tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and air pollution. "Detection, screening and treatment of NCDs, as well as palliative care, are key components of the response to NCDs," adds WHO.

While they're usually associated with older age groups, NCDs can affect people of all ages and regions.

"Children, adults and the elderly are all vulnerable to the risk factors contributing to NCDs, whether from unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, exposure to tobacco smoke, or the harmful use of alcohol or air pollution," warns WHO, adding that unhealthy diets and a lack of physical activity may show up in people as raised blood pressure, increased blood glucose, elevated blood lipids and obesity.

Meanwhile, a recent report released by the United Nations has revealed that most of the 4.9 million children who passed away in 2024 could have been saved. Almost half of the total number of children under five were newborns, and many were from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

"The most common causes were premature birth, pneumonia, and trauma suffered by the child during birth," reported the Guardian, adding that infectious diseases were also a major cause, with malaria leading to 17% of fatalities of children who survived beyond their first month of life.

Sadly, the UN also revealed that 100,000 succumbed directly from severe acute malnutrition, with the highest numbers in Pakistan, Somalia, and Sudan. It added that severe malnutrition was also an underlying cause for many children who passed away from other conditions.

“We are not moving far enough or fast enough and leaving 5 million [children] under the age of five vulnerable,” warns Abdurahman Sharif, senior humanitarian affairs director at Save the Children. Sharif says that aid cuts are leading to increasing preventable child fatalities at a time when needs are increasing. "It’s reversing decades of progress,” he cautioned.

Over in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals that more Americans pass away from injuries and violence than from any other cause, including cancer, HIV, or the flu. "This makes injury the leading cause of death among persons aged 1-44," notes the CDC website, warning that injuries and violence affect everyone, regardless of age, race, or economic status.

Unintentional injuries include things like overdoses, unintentional poisoning, motor vehicle crashes, and accidental falls. The CDC also reveals that taking one's own life deliberately is now the 2nd leading cause of fatalities for the 1-44 age group in America, and numbers are continuing to rise.

Back to the list, and a few emergency workers warned against putting your feet on the dashboard in a car. Here's why, according to Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers:

"Airbags deploy between 100 and 220 miles per hour. If you ride with your feet on the dash and you are involved in an accident, the airbag could send your knees through your face, breaking more than your nose."

What to do instead: "Always wear a seatbelt, keep feet on the floor, and sit properly to maximize airbag safety," advise the experts.