Author:
John Stephens
Date Of Creation:
2 January 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
No matter what kind of health you are in; What is your financial, mental, economic, or social status, you still have a way to better control your health. People of any age can practice healthy and good life habits.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Control your physical health
Talk to your doctor about staying healthy. Well-being and wellness-focused will help you stay in control of your health. Have your doctor schedule a checkup to assess your risk of certain diseases. This is especially important for the elderly, homosexuals, pregnant women, cancer patients, and people with diabetes. While waiting for your appointment, consider the following:
- Write down the reasons why you want to make a plan to stay healthy. This will give you a starting point to talk to your doctor.
- Make a list of health goals. For example, you may want to lower your blood pressure, lose weight, or control your diabetes.
Work with your doctor to make a plan. Having a workable plan is extremely helpful; through which you can set immediate goals to motivate you. Ask your doctor to help you break down each goal into easy-to-follow steps so you can get started right away.- Depending on your starting point, your health management plan can be a one to five year period of striving. Your plan should include the specific goals you want to achieve in those one to five years and should be broken down into smaller, more manageable goals to achieve in a month or quarter.
- Your plan is a starting point and isn't entirely rigid. If unexpected events happen or if your life changes, you can adjust your plan accordingly.
- Keep a journal to keep track of your short-term, long-term goals and their ability to achieve them. If you are not able to do it, you need to understand the cause and set new goals instead.
Get regular check-ups to keep track of health problems. Your health plan should include routine check-ups, heart screenings, high blood pressure and cancer. Talk to your doctor about screening and how often.- Heart disease screening and evaluation should be done when you are 20 years old and should be repeated every ten years. One useful stratification tool is the Framingham scale. The main risk factors for cardiovascular disease include poor nutrition, smoking, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, obesity, physical activity and diabetes.
- Testing for high blood pressure is recommended in adults over 18 years.
- Diabetes testing is often recommended in people with dyslipidemia and high blood pressure.
- Your doctor may recommend screening and screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer, depending on your risk factors. Cancer prevention measures include avoiding smoking, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, eating fruits and vegetables, limiting alcohol, and preventing STIs. Sex and avoid direct sunlight.
- In addition, you need to make sure you are fully vaccinated and talk to your doctor about your unique needs.
- Mental health care is important; Talk to your doctor about screening for conditions like depression and anxiety.
- Finally, you need to pay attention to issues like osteoporosis and vascular disease.
Exclude sources of negative impacts. Everyone wishes to become healthier, but then those good intentions go astray by the negative influences in our lives, preventing us from reaching our final goal. If you want your plan to be effective, you need to gradually get rid of those negative influences.- Make a list of life events that you consider to have negative effects, especially when they affect your health.
- Review the list and organize items easy to difficult to remove.
- Next, try to gradually eliminate the negative effects on your list from life.
- You don't have to suppress all of these effects immediately. Try to gradually remove as many of them from your life as possible.
- Some examples of negative effects that could put on your list include: While at home eating unhealthy foods, frequenting convenience stores for chocolate, often visiting food stores. eat fast, stay up too late, live disorganized, a colleague brings donuts to work, a friend who doesn't respect your goals, etc.
Drink enough water and fluids. 60% of the human body is water. Thus, water is a vital component of a healthy body. Water helps to flush toxins out of organs and transport essential nutrients to cells. Not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration, fatigue, and negatively affect your organ systems. Men need 13 cups (3 liters) liquidWomen need 9 cups (2.2 liters) liquid everyday.
- This is the quantity of all the drinks you consume in a day, not just water. All fluids help replenish the body in some way, but some (like water) work better and faster.
- You do not need to measure specific amounts of fluids each day, just drink enough fluids to not feel thirsty.
- Remember that water is lost through breathing, sweat, and bathing. If such activities occur more frequently, or over a long period of time (such as when sick or exercising), you need to drink more fluids to make up for lost fluids.
Get enough sleep. Adults 18 to 64 years of age need 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Adults over 65 years of age need 7-8 hours of sleep per night. The amount of sleep has an impact on your mood, energy, and long-term health. There are some basic sleep “rules” in addition to getting enough sleep that you can use:- Follow the same sleep schedule every day, including weekends.
- Create a certain bedtime every night, with no exceptions.
- Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool.
- If you don't get a good night's sleep, consider buying a new mattress or pillow.
- Don't drink anything with caffeine a few hours before bed.
- Only use your bedroom to sleep (and "love").
Exercise regularly. For the health benefits, adults should exercise with intensity medium at least 150 minutes (2 ½ hours) per week, or at intensity high at least 75 minutes (1 ¼ hour) per week. Of course, a combination of medium and high intensity exercise per week is also very good.- This activity should be done over a period of at least 10 minutes and spread out all day of the week.
- To get even greater benefits from physical activity, increase average intensity activity to 300 minutes (5 hours) per week, or intense activity to 150 minutes (2 ½ hours) per week.
- In addition to aerobic exercise, adults should also have muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
Enjoy food. Sometimes we overeat just because we don't notice. Usually it is because we eat while we are doing other things or watching television. Instead of eating absently, take the time to enjoy the meal. Stay away from distractions and enjoy food, and eat slowly.- When you eat more slowly, you can better “read” your body's messages. When your body tells you that you are full, stop eating.
- Gradually you will know what is enough food for your meal and you will just put that on your plate. At that point, spend the remainder of the meal for later or someone else.
Annual eye exam. Eye exams can actually detect a variety of problems other than vision problems, which can include symptoms of diabetes, high blood pressure and arthritis. Annual eye exams will ensure that you get the right support (eg glasses, contact lenses) and on the correct prescription for best results.
- Failure to wear glasses when needed or use the wrong lenses can cause other health problems such as headaches. Don't forget to update your prescription to prevent health problems.
- In addition to routine eye exams, you should also protect your eyes daily by doing the following:
- Wear sunglasses when outdoors every day of the year. Wear a cap with a cap in front of your forehead to avoid bright light.
- Always wear safety goggles when doing hazardous work.
- Wear eye protection when playing sports.
Annual dental examination. Healthy body means good oral health as well. Visiting the dentist at least once a year will ensure that your teeth and gums are in the best condition. It also helps to detect health problems early. As with eye exams, many diseases can be detected by examining the teeth before other symptoms appear.
- Good oral health also includes regular brushing and flossing.
- Ideally brush your teeth after each meal, but at least brush your teeth once a day before going to bed.
- You should floss at least once a day, possibly after brushing your teeth and right before bed.
Stop smoking. If you are a smoker then one of the best things you can do for yourself is to quit. Smoking cessation is never late. Regardless of your age, quitting will quickly bring benefits.
- Quitting smoking can have immediate positive effects on your health such as a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer and respiratory problems.
- Depending on how much cigarettes you smoke, you might save some money for another.
- Most US states and cities have free programs to help you quit smoking, so you won't be alone.
Method 2 of 4: Mental health care
Build and maintain healthy relationships. Connecting with people has benefits for your mental health. Friends and family can help reduce stress levels and increase your feelings of overall well-being. Such connections help you feel supported and valued, making you happier and less lonely.
- Personal relationships often benefit your health. For example, loneliness can raise blood pressure, and bonding with others can actually prolong life.
- Your current relationships with family and friends should be supportive, otherwise it won't be in your favor. You should have at least a few friends or family members who make you feel comfortable around you, so that you can confide things without being judged, can ask for help with trouble, feel valued, and be treated with respect.
- If you are looking for someone to make friends with, consider one of the activities such as taking an interesting class, joining a book club, joining a picnic club, doing volunteer work at non-profit organization.
Helping people. Helping others is clearly beneficial for those people, but it also has a positive effect on yourself. By helping others, you can increase your happiness; feeling lucky to be yourself; being connected with people, feeling of being useful and valuable, less worrying; feel the meaning and purpose in life.
- There is no shortage of charities and non-profit charity organizations that need volunteers to do whatever you can think of. However, helping others is not necessarily organized. It could just be carrying a neighbor's food bag or clearing the neighbor's sidewalk after a snowstorm.
Self-awarded. From time to time you should give yourself the opportunity to feel joy, happiness and satisfaction. For example, laughter is known to help relieve pain, relax muscles, reduce anxiety, and benefit the heart and lungs. There are several ways to bring joy in life such as:
- Read jokes when you feel sad or bored.
- Place the image in a place where you can see it to feel energized.
- Watch a comedy on TV or at the movie theater, or listen to it on the radio while driving.
- Find funny photos on sites like I Can Has Cheezburger!
- Make fun of yourself and the dumb situation you are in.
- Color in an adult coloring book or go to coloring parties with friends.
- Sign up for a class or activity that you've always wanted to try, such as making ceramic or stained glass.
- Go to a manicure spa, massage or facials (or all three!)
Pay attention to your spiritual life. Spiritual life does not necessarily mean religious organization. It can be understanding (or trying to understand) your own purpose or meaning in life. In general, the spiritual life can help you to believe in the existence of a greater power or entity; give you a sense of purpose and meaning; help you understand endurance; helps you connect with people; And reminds you that real good is in this world.
- The spiritual life can involve joining or sustaining the faith in a religious organization, or it can be focusing on your own notion of a divine being.
- Meditation patterns like deep breathing, mindfulness, visualization and mantras can help you focus your energies and increase your sense of peace.
Learn coping strategies. Life is not always beautiful and happy. Controlling your health also means learning to deal with tough moments by developing strategies that can help you understand, cope, and ultimately feel better. There are many habits that you can develop to cope with the negative things in your life, including:
- Write down your thoughts and feelings about an unpleasant event. Use this opportunity to talk about the situation (on paper). Once you've put your pen down, you'll feel better because you are able to organize your thoughts and release the pressure you feel about the situation. Ideally, you can move on from the difficulty and forget that it happened.
- If the problem you are experiencing is more logical than emotional, treat it like any other problem. Write down that problem and all the solutions you can think of. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. Choose the treatment that works best for you and reinforce the positive reasons for choosing it. Implementation of the solution.
- Sometimes we worry too much about a problem. Not because you want to, but because you can't control it. When you feel anxious about a situation, take a step back and ask yourself how real your worries are. Are you exaggerating?
- Understand that you cannot always spend all day worrying. So if you have to worry, schedule a time each day to do it. When you have time to worry, stop worrying and think about the good things coming in your life to remind yourself that things may not be as bad as you might think.
Method 3 of 4: Stay healthy as you age
Check your medications regularly and talk to your doctor or pharmacist regularly to make sure your medications are still working. Also check with your doctor or pharmacist every time you buy a new prescription or over-the-counter medications to make sure there are no drug interactions.
Annual hearing test. Make an appointment with an ear therapist for hearing tests at least once a year.If your hearing has changed since your last visit, you will need to upgrade your hearing aid accordingly.
Check for indoor hazards. Inspect the whole house and remove any hazards that could cause injury or falls. Make sure every place in the house is bright enough. Stair railings must be sturdy and safe. Install handrails and handrails in places where it is slippery and can fall (like bathrooms, bathtubs, etc.)
Join the Chronic Disease Self-Management program (CDSMP). CDSMP was developed by Stanford University and is now adopted by public health departments and health agencies throughout North America and Europe. This program will help you develop strategies for dealing with any chronic illness such as diabetes, arthritis or heart disease.
- If you live in the United States, you can go to the website of your state health department to find information about plans in your area. Most areas have a free program.
Method 4 of 4: Child support
Help your child to change attitudes towards eating. Only 20% of high school children in America eat at least 5 types of vegetables and fruits every day. Teenagers should be encouraged to eat not only fruits and vegetables every day, but also to eat "real" foods more often. Avoid fast and processed foods as much as possible. Encourage home-cooked foods and dishes made with fresh ingredients.- One of the quickest ways to adjust to a healthier diet is to reduce calories from beverages such as soft drinks, juices, energy drinks, shakes, and more.
Encourage physical activity. To be healthy, children need at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. However, children do not need 60 minutes of continuous activity but can be divided into 10-15 minute intervals.- Regardless of the season or weather, let your child play outdoors as often as possible.
- Parents should participate in activities with their children, not only for family cohesion but also because advocacy benefits adults as well.
- Set physical activity goals for the whole family to work on. Take part in charity fundraising events like a marathon or a family charity walk.
Make sure your child gets enough sleep. Children need 9 to 10 hours of sleep each night for functions to function properly. Children who do not sleep enough time above may suffer from their ability to think, learn and make right decisions. Lack of sleep can also affect a child's health due to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression.- Help your baby get enough sleep by setting a bedtime and sleeping routine. Set a bedtime that your child should follow each night, including weekends. Avoid using computers and watching TV an hour before bed. The one hour before bed is needed for relaxing activities like brushing your teeth or reading a book.
- Children and adults alike need dark rooms for a good night's sleep. Your child's bedroom should be dark and the bed is for sleeping only.
- Avoid having a full meal right before bed. This not only helps prevent stomach disorders that prevent babies from sleeping, but also helps them avoid nightmares. Children should also not drink too much water before bed to avoid having to get up at night to go to the toilet.
Limit the time you spend using electronic devices. All types of technology equipment such as televisions, computers, phones, etc. have to limit the time used each day. Once you reach the limit, you should encourage your child to be active with physical activities that do not include technology.- Indoor areas such as around the dining table need to be considered "tech-free zones" where no electronic devices are allowed - for BOTH parents and children. Instead, encourage live (old-fashioned) chat.
Teach your children about social etiquette on the internet. Many children never know the world without internet. They interact, play and learn online. However, children can also take advantage of the internet and need to know how to behave when communicating in the online community.- Parents must be a good role model in online communication. Children often like to imitate adults, so if you profan or act rude online, they can do the same. If you see that you have the right attitude, your children will follow suit.
- Teach your children about cyberbullying. Do not hide stories of children being bullied on the Internet, but share and discuss with them. Discuss how to respond to similar situations (eg talking to a parent or teacher, not posting pictures or personal information, etc.).
- Find out about the software and applications your child uses while online or on their phone to see what they use. Don't expect your child to "teach" you what they do online.
Advice
- For recommended intake of each food group each day see the Canadian Food Guide at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide- aliment / index-eng.php.
- To learn how to track food intake and exercise, check out USDA's SuperTracker at https://www.supertracker.usda.gov.
- Read details about Stanford's chronic disease self-management program at http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/programs/cdsmp.html.
- For more information on mental health symptoms and their treatment, you can visit the Canadian Mental Health Association website at http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/, or on our website. Mental Health in the United States at http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/.
