In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I’d use this week’s blog to discuss our overall health. If we don’t take care of ourselves FIRST we are no good to our families and employers. Not only is breast cancer a killer if left undetected, so is heart disease and some stress related diseases and problems. Many of these health issues can be avoided through early detection or by reducing our stress. Below are some tips you may have heard before, but are you following them? And some of the advice may be surprisingly new.
Daily Activities:
Make sure your daily schedule includes a minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic activity. I hate to sweat, but I know my heart needs it. Not only is it great for my heart, I find my metabolism is much faster throughout the day and I’m more productive.
Strength building becomes more important as we age. Be sure to hit the weights at least twice a week to keep your bones strong and ward off osteoporosis.
I can’t stress enough the importance of getting at least 10 minutes a day of uninterrupted time to meditate or reflect. I use my time in the morning to read one page of “Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnanch. Her daily advice allows me to think about how I want to start my day.
Regular Check Ups:
Besides taking the day off work to go to the spa on my birthdays, I also use the day to arrange all my health care appointments. Depending on your age will dictate what yearly appointment you should make:
| Test or Screening | 20’s & 30’s | 40’s | 50’s | 60’s+ |
| Blood Pressure | X | X | X | X |
| Annual Eye Exam | X | X | X | X |
| Cholesterol | X | X | X | X |
| Weight Management | X | X | X | X |
| Pelvic, Breast, Pap Smear | X | X | X | X |
| Mammogram | X | X | X | |
| Mole Checks | X | X | X | X |
| Colon Cancer | X | |||
| Bone Density | X | |||
| Vaccinations | X | X | ||
| Thyroid Hormone Test | X | X |
Stress Reducing Activities:
Make yoga a part of your weekly exercise activity. Not only does yoga increase your balance, flexibility, and strength, it is also emotionally relaxing. No gym in the world has completely helped me reduce my stress like yoga can.
Learn to say NO. It’s great to help others, but you can’t be everything to everyone. Once you start practicing making yourself a priority and telling others no, it will get easier over time.
Eating right and exercise are important, but nothing is more important than getting enough sleep. Sleep affects your metabolism, your food cravings, your memory, and the list goes on and on. Get at least 8 hours a day and in no time you’ll feel more relaxed and more productive.
Make this the month you decide to make yourself a priority. Create a health journal to help you get started. Mine includes information on exercising, eating, and monitoring and observing personal health issues. For more details on the advice above or other health tips go to www.healthywomen.org
