Making Time for Your Health

Making time for your health is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and the people you love. Some potentially life-threatening illnesses are nearly 100 percent curable if caught in the early stages. You can reduce your risk of developing others by getting preventive care, taking care of yourself, and adjusting your health routines as you age.

If a busy schedule has kept you from making the time for your health, it’s not too late to get started. At any age, you can create time for life-enhancing activities such as having medical checkups, eating balanced meals, and getting enough sleep and exercise to function at your best.

Some potentially life-threatening illnesses are nearly 100 percent curable if caught in the early stages. You can reduce your risk of developing others by getting preventive care, taking care of yourself, and adjusting your health routines as you age.

Why making time for your health matters

Some of the benefits of making time for your health may seem obvious. It just feels good to know you’ve done all you can to stay healthy for yourself and the people you love. But other benefits are more subtle. Making time for your help may help you:

Lower your risk for certain diseases. By staying as healthy as you can, you may avoid illnesses such as stroke, heart disease, and osteoporosis. You may also avoid or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, a leading cause of kidney failure, blindness, and other complications in adults. Losing as little as 7 percent of your body weight can substantially reduce your chance of developing diabetes if you are at risk for it.

Seek treatment for illnesses early enough that they can be cured. You can greatly increase your chances of surviving some diseases by getting tested for them. For example, studies have shown that you can reduce your risk of dying from colon cancer by anywhere from 50 to 90 percent by having a colonoscopy on the schedule recommended by your doctor. That’s because the test can find the disease before it spreads to other parts of your body.

Save money on medical and dental bills. A small investment of time can lead to big savings on health care costs. A routine dental checkup may turn up tooth problems when they can be fixed by a simple procedure, such as filling a cavity. The cost may soar if you neglect the tooth and eventually need a root canal, porcelain crown, or both.

Studies have shown that you can reduce your risk of dying from colon cancer by anywhere from 50 to 90 percent by having a colonoscopy on the schedule recommended by your doctor. 

Have more energy and less stress. Even if you have no major health problems, making time for your health can improve the quality of your life. A good example involves sleep. If you get too little sleep, you may feel tired, irritable, forgetful, and less able to cope with stress the next day. If you don’t make up the “sleep debt,” those feelings may last much longer. Research has shown people who have had too little sleep make more mistakes, so a bad night can affect everything from your work to your safety behind the wheel of a car.

Set a good example for children. If you have children, you’ve probably spent a lot of time teaching them about good health habits, such as brushing their teeth and eating healthy foods. Your children also learn by watching you. If you want them to exercise regularly, a good way to send that message is to stay as active as you’d like them to be. You’ll get a double benefit if you choose activities your children can enjoy with you, such as hiking, swimming, or bike riding.

Making time for preventive health care

Making time for preventive care means finding a way to get care that can help you avoid health problems, such as getting medical checkups, immunizations, screenings, and eye and dental exams.

Talk with health care providers about the kinds of preventive care you need. Work with your primary care physician to draw up a list of the types of preventive care you need and a schedule for each. Be sure to include care that someone else may have to provide, such as vision or hearing tests.

Plan ahead for checkups and tests. Don’t wait until you have a problem to make a medical appointment. Many areas have doctor shortages and long wait times for appointments. A survey of 15 major metropolitan areas found that patients had to wait an average of 20 days for a routine physical exam with a family doctor. In some cities, people had to wait more than 50 days.

Schedule your next appointment when you leave the office of your doctor or dentist.Record the date on your phone’s calendar and set up an alert so you don’t forget it. If your schedule may change, set your reminder alert (or as ask the office staff for a reminder call) far enough in advance so that you can reschedule if needed. If you have some days off from your job, schedule your checkup for one of those days so that you won’t have to take time off from work.

Create a reminder system for appointments. Many medical and dental offices call or send reminder cards or emails a set number of days before appointments. Would you prefer to get these notices by phone, email, or text message? Do you need to get the notices further in advance? Talk with the office staff to see if it’s possible for them to accommodate your notification preferences.

Sign up for the patient portal with your health care providers. This allows you to email questions about appointments and routine needs and not have to wait for phone calls. It also allows you to email questions about routine health screenings you may need. Many have a tracking portion on the portal that will tell you when you should schedule your next mammogram or gynecological exam or when blood work is needed.

Let your health care provider’s office staff know how you would like to be reminded about upcoming appointments, whether it’s with a card, phone call, or email or text message. Ask what’s possible.

Schedule preventive care with someone you love. Have mother-daughter mammograms, and then go out to lunch together. Plan dental visits for everyone in the family on the same day, preferably on a day off from school.

Ways to carve out time for your health every day

Carving out time for your health every day is the best way to work as a partner with your health care providers.

Set priorities. Decide which one or two health concerns matter most to you and focus on those at first, so you won’t feel overwhelmed before you see results.

Cook healthy meals in batches to reduce preparation time. Make a big pot of a healthy soup on the weekend that you can divide up and take to work for lunch, have as a snack when you get home, or eat with whole-grain bread for dinner. Or cut up fresh fruits and vegetables and keep them in the refrigerator so you can reach for them instead of snacks that are high in salt and sugar.

Exercise in small doses if your time is limited. Doctors recommend that you get 30-60 minutes of exercise that makes you breathe harder on all or most days of the week. But you don’t have to get it all at once. A brisk 15-minute walk twice a day can ease stress, rev up your circulation, and increase the flow of oxygen to your brain. Make it a habit to walk for a short time at lunch and then again when you get home from work, before tackling homework and dinner needs.

Adjust your personal schedule to make time for your health needs. If you have trouble getting to the gym after work, go in the morning or on your lunch hour if you can. If you can’t, consider adding other types of exercise, such as a brisk walk every day and a bike ride with a friend on weekends. Rent or borrow some exercise DVDs so that you can exercise at home in front of the TV.

Invest in an app or gadget that will help you stay on track. Aim for 10,000 steps a day. Count your steps with an app, like the iPhone Health app (which is built into the phone) or Pedometer ++. Or use a wearable wireless activity-tracker, such as the Fitbit Flex®. Or download My Fitness Pal, an all-in-one calorie counter and exercise tracker.

To stay fit throughout life, aim for 10,000 steps a day. Use your tracker, smartphone, or other device to count your steps.

Have regular times for going to bed and getting up. If you often get too little sleep, developing a schedule can get you back on track. It may also help you lose weight. Research has shown that getting too little sleep raises levels of the hormone that makes you feel hungry, and people who get much less than the recommended 7 to 9 hours a night are more likely to be overweight.

Make it fun to stay fit. You won’t have to force yourself to work out if you make staying in shape so much fun that you look forward to it. Search the Xbox site for “fitness games” to learn about video games designed to get you up and moving. Or try an energetic virtual sport, like Wii tennis or boxing, that will you get you off the couch even if you don’t burn as many calories as you would from the real sport. Read about the options by searching for “Wii Sports” at Nintendo’s website. If you have young children, workout together. You’ll find some fun exercises at GoNoodle

Learn stress-management techniques that you can do in five minutes. Try closing your eyes, picturing yourself in a calm place, and saying, “I am at peace.” Or do deep-breathing exercises: Sit or stand in a relaxed position in a quiet place. Inhale slowly through your nose to a count of five, and then exhale through your mouth for another count of five. Repeat until you feel calm.

If you smoke, ask your doctor to help you find ways to quit that would fit into your schedule. If you don’t have time to enroll in a formal program, ask about options you could try in the time you have available. Help can also be found by calling 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669).

For help quitting smoking, call 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669).

If you take medications, set up a reminder system for them. You might download the MediSafe medication reminder app or a similar tool or app. MediSafe will remind you of when you need to take a drug, and if you don’t confirm that you’ve done so, will send you a message.

Get help if you have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Visit the website (http://www.ccdus.ca) to learn about the options. Or get in touch with a local chapter of a group such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or another alternative to 12-step programs. A five-minute phone call could change your life.

Making and taking time for your health as you age

Your medical needs change over time, and you may need to make more time for your health as you age.

Watch for changes in your health as you age. Starting at about the age of 40, you may notice changes in how well you can see or hear, or you may experience more stress because of extra work and family responsibilities. Don’t ignore these signs. If you get help for changes like these, you can keep them from affecting your work, your relationships, or your overall enjoyment of life.

Talk with your doctor about whether you need a different kind of care. The risk of many serious illnesses rises with age, and some illnesses may show no signs until they are advanced. To avoid or control conditions, you may need to get more frequent checkups or screenings or take other preventive steps. Ask your doctor if making changes in your medical-care schedule or home health routines would have benefits for you, and follow any advice you get.

Adjust your health goals if needed. Join an exercise program geared to people of your age or level of development, such as a Masters swim (http://www.ymcatriangle.org) or volleyball team at a Y or a community-based senior softball league. Or get involved with a Couch to 5k program (http://www.c25k.com), which, through a series of gentle steps, will help you work up to running five kilometres (about three miles).

Healthy people over the age of 40 can generally build muscles through two evenly spaced training sessions a week. Strength training is also key in the prevention of osteoporosis.