Staying Healthy

The main goal of primary care is to keep patients healthy and trying to correct bad habits / treat conditions before they cause problems. These are some general tips:

Diet and exercise - this has been talked about in a previous post.

Restful sleep - Typically between 7-8 hours. But some people need more, some people need less. What’s important is that you feel rested in the morning. If you are having trouble getting enough restful sleep, please talk to your doctor.

Stress management - Stress and anxiety is part of life. However, it can become pathological and a detriment to your health if it is not managed. Finding ways to manage stress is a very important tool for your health in the long term.

Staying up to date on preventative screening - There are certain “silent” conditions that can damage your health if its not identified and fixed / treated early on. This broadly includes: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes/pre-diabetes, obesity, screenable cancers, osteoporosis. Others may be applicable as well depending on individual risk factors.

Retirement/Sense of purpose - Having goals and a purpose is important to your health. There is a large increase in health problems often within the first year of retirement because when you are used to a routine, losing that can be very stressful. That doesn’t mean retiring is bad, but planning how you will then spend your days can be very important (exercise classes, volunteering, hobbies, etc).

Staying active - As you age, keeping your body and mind active is one of the best things you can do. Things happen - catching a cold/flu from grandkids, hurting your back, having a knee or hip replacement etc. Keeping you mind and body active helps you recover quickly and prevent complications due to frailty.