4 Ways to Protect Your Health in the New Year

When it comes to our health, many of us make the mistake of ignoring it until there’s a problem. We know that we should eat well and exercise. We know that we should get regular health screenings and take time to unwind. But, if we feel ok, we simply carry on until something is wrong. 

Taking steps to protect your health can mean that you stay healthy, you don’t face severe conditions, and your immune system is strong. Here are four things that you can do to protect your health in the New Year. 

Find the Right Healthcare Providers

Many of us stick with the doctor that we’ve always visited out of habit, only looking for new healthcare providers when we move to a new area. You might spend more time finding the right person to look at your home electrics than you’ve ever spent researching your doctor. Your healthcare is important, and your doctor shouldn’t just be someone you think about when you feel unwell. 

Finding the right practice means putting preventative care before sick care. It means taking steps to ensure you don’t become unwell, instead of only attending appointments when you are already symptomatic. You want a practice that offers engagement, education, healthcare screenings, and a proactive doctor instead of just reactive. 

A practice using a merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) is likely to offer excellent patient care and engagement, as well as giving you easy access to your medical history and records. A MIPS improves the quality of care and identifying additional patient needs. Moving to a practice that utilizes MIPS can help you to protect your health instead of just treating specific issues as they arise. 

Learn from the Pandemic

2020 has been challenging, and we certainly don’t want to spend the rest of our lives living in lockdowns, unable to see friends or family or go to the places we love. But, there are lessons that we could learn from the last few months. 

What if we kept wearing face coverings in enclosed spaces when we can a bad cold or the flu, as some cultures around the world always have? What if we stopped shaking hands or maintained improved cleaning and hygiene? These practices could limit the spread of colds, flu, and other bugs. 

Start Scheduling Exercise

The most common excuse for not getting enough exercise is a lack of time. But, we manage to find time for much less important things. Getting plenty of exercise is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health, so start making time, and when you are busy, schedule exercise. Even if it’s just a walk on your lunch break, it’s worth it. 

Practice Moderation 

Moderation is perhaps the key to a healthier lifestyle and long-term good health. Most of the things that we love, whether it’s chocolate, sugar, greasy takeout food, or wine, only have a truly detrimental effect on our health and wellbeing when we overindulge. Practice moderation to find the balance between what’s good for you and what you enjoy to balance happiness and health. 

Of course, we all get sick sometimes. Taking steps to protect your health can reduce the risks and mean that your recovery times are quicker.