02 Jan 10 Great Health Goals for the New Year
When it comes to better health in 2020, goals are essential. Make sure you keep the following 10 (of the most popular) health goals on the top of your list:
- Lose weight.
- Stay in touch.
- Quit smoking.
- Save money.
- Cut your stress.
- Volunteer.
- Go back to school.
- Cut back on alcohol.
- Get more sleep
- Travel.
ENGAGE in your wellness by first identifying what your area of your wellness is your weakest link. Then simply start and start simply, working on one thing until you see improvement and then moving on to the next. Not sure what you should focus on in 2020? Visit our team for a health consultation to help you discover what area to focus on first.
Work Health – It Takes a Toll
Work environments can be healthy and unhealthy. A healthy work environment can provide you with social relationships, identity, personal growth and financial security. But other work-related issues can lead to serious health problems through injury and other psychosocial risks. What does your work environment do for your health? If you recognize areas that are destructive or unhealthy, what can you do to change those?
Reduce Stress for Better Health
The American Heart Association is engaged in researching how stress affects your heart, and has shown how stress can affect behaviors and factors that increase your risk for heart disease–the leading cause of death in America.
How you handle the stress in your life greatly determines how healthy your heart remains. Some people choose to turn to alcohol, smoking, overeating and other negative options to cope with the stresses they feel. But, these habits can increase blood pressure and damage artery walls. High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, smoking, and physical inactivity are some of the leading causes for heart disease.
Ask yourself, how am I managing the stress–both positive and negative–in my life?
Strive for Better Sleep
Sleep is an essential component to achieving and maintaining optimum health and wellness. It sustains and protects mental, physical and emotional health in children and teens, and is crucial for growth and development.
Getting adequate sleep reduces healing time for injuries and ailments. Not getting enough of it puts you at higher risk for chronic health problems and illnesses. Sleep deficiency has been shown to cause above-average blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of prediabetes and diabetes, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. While your body rests it rebuilds muscle mass and repairs cells and tissues. Your hormones will also regulate better encouraging a more healthy, properly-functioning body.
Do you often wake feeling unrested? You may have an undiagnosed sleep disorder. Find out what you can do to see if you can achieve better rest to support your overall health.
Money and How it Affects Your Health
“The US National Center for Health Statistics calls the association between health and socioeconomic factors such as income and education “well established,”said Business Insider.
Why is this? Not only is less stress present when you are financially stable, but having sufficient income to meet your needs usually translates to purchasing healthier, sometimes more costly, foods and not skipping needed trips to the doctor for ongoing services.
Where Do you Fall with Baseline Health Indicators?
When establishing where to start with your goals, start with analyzing where you fall with certain baseline health indicators. Wondering where you stack up compared to the nation? Consider the following.
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Prevention (ODPHP), recently released its Midcourse Review, an overview of the status of Healthy People 2020 objectives in the first half of the decade. This review describes progress with labels like: improving, little or no detectable change, target met or exceeded or getting worse. The areas that are getting worse include:
- Oral Health
- Mental Health and Mental Disorders
Areas with no detectable change included:
- Family Planning
- Nutrition and Weight Status (Specifically, mean daily intake of vegetables and obesity among children and adults)
- Substance abuse
- Access to Health Services
- Diabetes
For many of us, these weaker areas can be changed by us proactively choosing to make changes. But, often we need a little help. This is where a visit to Mile High Spine & Pain Center comes in.
Call for a Health Goals Consultation
Learn strategies and tips to balance your body both physically and mentally. Make 2020 your year for getting in the best shape of your life. With our wide range of therapy services, we can treat you from head to toe to make sure you are fit for all your 2020 goals. To make an appointment, or to learn more about our state of the art facility and team, contact us at (720) 507-0080 today to schedule your free consultation at our Broomfield chiropractic office!