Taking Better Care of Your Health In 2020

Your health is your biggest priority. Your personal health and lifestyle choices significantly impact how long you can be expected to live and how active you are on a daily basis. This is especially crucial if you’re planning on having a baby in the future! What can you do to improve your health? Here are tips for taking better care of your health this year.

Schedule an Annual Physical

You should have a complete physical done every year to spot any potential issues before they become serious. Women should go to gynecologists for pap smears and breast exams. The doctor can recommend better personal health and lifestyle choices to keep your body in optimal condition. During your appointment, the doctor can update any needed vaccinations and screen for diseases such as heart disease and cancer.

Treat Injuries

Even though you do your best to follow personal health and lifestyle choices to keep you going strong, sometimes injuries can still occur. If you sprain your ankle, there is ankle twist treatment at home you can do to help you recover. Try to stay off your feet as much as possible for the first few days and apply ice to reduce swelling and pain. Elevate your ankle above your heart and use compression bandages to reduce blood flow. Take over the counter pain medications as needed according to the directions on the bottle.

To assist in bone repair from a fracture, you may need to have a doctor apply a cast to allow the bone to heal in the correct position. If bone fractures aren’t properly treated by a doctor, it can lead to blood clot formation, infection, swelling, and muscle or skin damage. You can speed up the recovery time by taking supplements and exercising. You may want to avoid smoking as it can delay bone healing.

Lose Weight

Losing weight can provide a number of physical and mental health benefits. Obesity can lead to cardiovascular problems, stroke, and diabetes. You can lose weight through proper exercise and nutrition.

Choose a diet filled with lean proteins, fresh fruit, and vegetables. If you’re struggling to lose weight, you may want to consider medical weight loss to help you make better personal health and lifestyle choices.

Take Care of Your Teeth

Proper dental care is one of the personal health and lifestyle choices that many adults overlook. Poor dental health can lead to heart disease and lower life expectancy. You should brush and floss your teeth daily and change your toothbrush at least once every three months. Your teeth should be cleaned by a dentist at least twice a year. If your teeth are crooked, you can get braces to help give you a healthier smile.

Check Your Insurance

To help avoid the rising costs of healthcare, it’s a good idea to review your insurance policy to make sure you have proper coverage. If you’re an older adult you may want to review recent changes that have been made to Medicare because of the recent pandemic. Expansions to several medical services have been made to assist seniors with their personal health and lifestyle choices. If you’re homebound, you can receive assistance at home with a home health aide.

Work Out Regularly

Another one of the best personal health and lifestyle choices you can make is to work out at least three times per week. To achieve this goal, try to find an activity that you’ll enjoy. This activity could be walking, running, swimming, hiking, or biking. You could gather some friends and play basketball. Make sure to stretch before and after your workout to keep your muscles flexible and prevent injury. Start small and gradually increase the amount of exercise you do over time.

Practice Meditation

Chronic stress can negatively impact your personal health and lifestyle choices and lead to serious long term medical conditions. Meditation can help relieve stress. This practice has been used to increase physical relaxation and calmness. It can be beneficial for a variety of conditions such as pain, high blood pressure, and psychological disorders.

Meditation involves being able to sit quietly and focus on your breathing. There are a variety of meditation apps you can download online that can guide you through the process. For optimal benefits, you may want to practice meditation for 30 minutes twice a day. Other relaxation techniques you can try include guided imagery, deep breathing exercises, biofeedback, and self-hypnosis.

Protect Yourself With a Flu Shot

A flu shot is one of the critical personal health and lifestyle choices you should consider making. To prevent getting sick, you may want to schedule your flu shot every year before the flu season begins. There are other preventative measures you can take as well. Make sure to wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer if soap isn’t available. Avoid close contact with others and avoid touching your face.

Adopt a Pet

One of the overlooked personal health and lifestyle choices to improve your wellbeing is adopting a pet. A pet can reduce stress and lower your blood pressure. This can decrease your risk of developing a heart attack or stroke. Pets also help you stay active and fight off depression. According to a study conducted on college students, participants who spent a few hours with a therapy dog had a 60% reduction in depression symptoms. Pet owners also have been observed to have 15% fewer visits to the doctor’s office.

Connect With Others

Social relationships are great for improving your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Loneliness can have a similar negative impact like obesity and cigarette smoking. Connecting with others is one of the personal health and lifestyle choices you may not want to ignore. Join groups that have the same interests as you or invite someone else who is lonely over for dinner. You’ll not only improve your health but the health of someone else too.

Drink More Water

One of the best personal health and lifestyle choices you can make is to drink more water. Drinking water helps control your caloric intake, hydrates your skin, and keeps your organs healthy. While there’s water in most of the foods you eat, you should still aim to drink at least six to eight glasses of water each day.

To help you reach your daily water quota, spread out your glasses throughout the day. Drin one before breakfast, two before lunch, two before dinner, and one after dinner. Find little ways to reward yourself every time you have a glass. Invest in multiple water bottles that you can easily fill up and grab. You can even switch up the variety by drinking herbal tea and sparkling water.

Practice Gratitude

Practicing gratitude can improve your health and wellbeing. It can lead to better immune function and reduce your risk for cancer and heart disease. You can practice daily gratitude by writing down five things you’re thankful for. You can write down little things like enjoying a delicious meal or bigger things like the support you receive from loved ones. Take time to enjoy and appreciate these positive experiences.

Strengthen Your Feet

Taking care of your feet can be one of the personal health and lifestyle choices you overlook. Your feet can spend a significant time cramped in ill-fitting shoes. This can create nerve and muscle issues through your feet, legs, hips, and back. Give your feet some relief with a bit of tender loving care.

There’s a simple exercise you can do to help strengthen your feet. Place the balls of your feet up against a wall and squeeze your heels together as you lift them off the floor. Bend your knees with your shoulders over your hips. Open your knees out to the side as you lower your butt toward the floor and press up with your heels to a standing position.

Reduce Screen Time

The amount of time you spend on your phone or computer can negatively impact your health. Spending time on social media reduces the amount of physical contact you can have with family and friends. It can also lead to obesity due to a lack of exercise. There is scientific evidence that social media can contribute to anxiety and depression and it can impact you from getting a good night’s rest. Reducing your screen time can be one of the best personal health and lifestyle choices you could make.

Quit Smoking

Smoking is one of the worst personal health and lifestyle choices you could make. According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 80% to 90% of lung cancer cases are directly related to smoking. There are a number of ways to help you kick this bad habit. You can find various nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and nasal sprays. There are also certain medications you can discuss with your doctor to help reduce your urge to smoke.

Drive Safely

When it comes to personal health and lifestyle choices that can make the biggest impact, driving safely to avoid a car accident is at the top of the list. Approximately six million car accidents occur on U.S. roads every year. An auto injury can permanently damage your health for life. You can protect your health by wearing a seatbelt and obeying the traffic laws.

Check Your Scalp

Checking your scalp may not be something you can do by yourself, but it’s important for improving your health. You can make an appointment with a dermatologist or have your hairdresser take a look. The reason you should check your scalp is because the deadliest melanomas are typically found on the neck or scalp. Men over 50 years old should wear a hat and sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun.

Wear Sunglasses

Wearing sunglasses is one of the best personal health and lifestyle choices you can make for your eyes. The protective lenses can ward off cataracts, eyelid cancer, and macular degeneration. Not only that, but they can protect your skin from signs of premature aging. Of course, an NMN supplement can also help you with your anti-aging goals. It never hurts to double down on your efforts! Certain medications can make your eyes more sensitive to the sun’s rays. The sunglasses you choose should protect against UVA/UVB sunlight. Sunglasses aren’t just for the summertime. They can also protect you from snow blindness, blowing sand, wind, and dust.

Get a Massage

Research shows that getting a massage can provide significant benefits for your overall health. Massage therapy can lower blood pressure by slowing the heart rate. By decreasing your level of stress, your immune system can better ward off viruses and bacteria that can make you sick. It can also boost your mood and energy levels.

Get More Sleep

When considering the personal health and lifestyle choices you make on a daily basis, pay attention to how much sleep you get each night. Scientific research recommends that adults get at least six to eight hours of sleep for optimal health. Researchers have also found that getting less than seven hours of sleep makes it 12% more likely for someone to die prematurely. If you get more than nine hours of sleep each night, you can be at 30% risk for dying prematurely.

To maintain a regular sleep schedule, wake up, and go to sleep at the same times each day. Avoid caffeine or alcohol before going to sleep. Put away any electronic devices and keep the temperature in your room comfortable. You can use a sleep app to track your progress over time.

Clean Your Home’s Air

It’s imperative to keep your home clean. The quality of air you breathe in your home can have a significant impact on your overall health. Your home’s air can become polluted by pet dander, mildew, and insect droppings. There are a couple of personal health and lifestyle choices you can make to improve the quality of air in your living environment. You can invest in air-purifying plants or an air purifier to clean toxins from your home. Be sure to choose a purifier that can meet your unique needs.

The personal health and lifestyle choices you make greatly impact your quality of life. Use these tips to make your health your top priority this year. By doing so, you can feel more energetic to accomplish your goals and lead a successful life. Even the smallest change can make the biggest impact on how you look and feel.