February is almost over. Time flies by so quickly, doesn’t it? However, this doesn’t mean it is too late for you to set new goals. After all, when it comes to goal-setting, the best time is always now!
Wondering what other goals you need to have this year? What about health-related ones? In case you don’t have them yet, here are some health goals women should consider setting:
Get more sleep
Many people don’t get enough sleep on a daily basis. But did you know that sleep deprivation is more common among women?
According to a report from Sleep Foundation, an average adult needs to sleep for seven to nine hours every night. Alarmingly, fewer than two-thirds of women are able to snooze for that long each night.
Biological factors definitely play a huge role in this. Citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Frank McGeorge wrote in an article that hormones greatly affect women’s sleeping patterns.
“Women have about 50 hormones that help start or stop certain body functions. The two major female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, rise and fall at different times, potentially impacting sleep,” McGeorge explained.
“For example, right before menstruation, progesterone levels dip dramatically. During pregnancy and menopause, both estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate up and down,” he added.
Of course, the number of responsibilities they need to fulfill also has a lot to do with their sleeping pattern.
Though women tend to sleep around 11 minutes more than men, they generally have less time for rest because of discrepancies in paid and unpaid labor and increased caregiving duties, according to the Sleep Foundation report. On top of it all, women also have various familial and social roles to play.
What’s even more worrisome is the fact that lack of sleep has been associated with a number of health risks, including:
- Hypertension
- Type 2 diabetes
- Weight gain
- Depression
So, if you’ve been having a hard time getting enough sleep lately, we hope you can do something about it. To deal with the biological factors mentioned previously, you may try exercising regularly, which can reportedly help alleviate sleeping problems that are linked to hormones.
If you think it’s things like household chores that are keeping you from getting enough sleep every night, you may want to talk to your partner or whoever you are sharing a home with about properly dividing responsibilities. Though there’s no definitive guide on how to do it, you may still benefit from resources like this one.
Eat healthily
You’ve probably heard this countless times already, but we’re saying it again: What you eat has a huge impact on your overall health.
If you haven’t been paying attention to what’s on your plate, that’s okay. Eating healthily is easier said than done, after all. However, it doesn’t mean nothing can be done about it anymore. You do not have to drastically alter your diet to improve your health.
According to a study that was recently published in PLOS Medicine, switching to a more plant-based diet can increase a person’s life expectancy, regardless of their age.
This means that by incorporating more whole grains, legumes, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts into your diet and at the same time cutting down on red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, and refined grains, you can help improve your overall health and live longer.
Get regular exercise
Regular exercise has quite a number of health benefits. As mentioned earlier, working out can help you address some sleeping problems.
Another benefit of exercise is it counteracts hormonally triggered mood swings, according to Sutter Health. When you work out, your body combats hormone-related mood swings by releasing endorphins, which are capable of regulating mood.
Exercise also helps prevent bone loss and osteoporosis, which women are more at risk of developing. That’s because women tend to have smaller and thinner bones in comparison to men, Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation said.
The foundation added that the level of estrogen, which helps protect bones, drastically falls by the time women experience menopause, thereby increasing the risk of bone loss. This also explains why women are more vulnerable to osteoporosis once menopause hits.
Get mental health breaks
Women have been bearing the burden of unpaid work ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, World Economic Forum said, citing a UN Women Report.
Things have been more challenging for those who have children. According to “Whose Time to Care?” by UN Women, “The average woman now spends nearly the equivalent of a full-time job doing unpaid childcare — a full working day a week more than the average man.”
Due to increased unpaid work, nearly half of women are said to have been “feeling more anxious, depressed, isolated, overworked, or ill,” according to a June 2020 Oxfam study published on ReliefWeb.
It is due to such realities that women need mental health breaks now more than ever.
According to Elizabeth Scott, Ph.D., one may plan a mental health day ahead of time to make sure they can reorganize their workload and even find someone else to do things they may have to miss.
But of course, they can also decide to take an impromptu break, like when they realize first thing in the morning that they are not prepared for another day’s worth of stress.
“The decision of when to take a mental health day really depends on your personal situation,” Scott said.
“If your employer is supportive and you are comfortable sharing your reasons, feel free to plan a mental health day out in advance. If you don’t want to divulge your reasons for taking a day or if your employer is less understanding, don’t feel obligated to share,” she added.
Wondering what you can do during a mental health break? You may check out this guide. It is worth noting, however, that mental health breaks can only do so much.
Check your own body
One way of keeping track of your health is by checking your own body regularly, so you can easily spot changes that may be telling you something about a condition you may have.
You can start by having a self-breast check, through which you can monitor any unusual masses or lumps on your breasts. You may use this guide if you are not familiar with the step-by-step process.
And, don’t forget to pay attention to your period. As you may already know, menstruation is considered a vital sign as it can reveal a lot of information about your health. Need help with tracking and decoding your period? Check out this article.
Monitoring your bowel movement is also something you should consider because it can help you uncover possible chronic issues. The good news is that you can now easily do it using your smartphones. Wondering what app to use? You may refer to this list.
Get checked, screened, and vaccinated
One of the things we’re hoping for you is not to let this year pass without seeing a doctor, so you can get the answers you need about some health concerns you may have.
You may start with a consultation with a general practitioner (GP) then just get referrals or recommendations depending on your specific needs later on.
A visit to a gynecologist would be great, too. Ideally, women should see their gynecologist once a year before reaching the age of 29, as per Women’s Healthcare of Boca Raton.
After that, regular checkups can be scheduled once every two years, unless:
- You’re planning on getting pregnant soon and would like to get advice about reproductive health
- You think you may be pregnant and need confirmation, as well as obstetric care recommendations
- You don’t have a GP yet but want to ensure you don’t have any major gynecological health issues
- You had unprotected sex with a nonmonogamous partner and need to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STD)
- You experience discomfort during sexual intercourse or experience bleeding after sex
- You have an irregular menstrual cycle or have an unusually light or heavy flow
- You get unusual pain in your pelvic, stomach, or vagina during or in between periods
- You have seen growths or unusual changes on or around your vagina
- You have noticed that your vagina produces unusual odors or discharge
Getting screened for possible health problems is also a step worth taking. There are 10 health screenings women are advised to have, according to Everyday Health. They include:
- Pap smears
- Mammograms
- Blood pressure screening
- Cholesterol check
- Bone density screening
- Blood glucose tests
- Body mass index
- Colon cancer screening
- Dental checkup
- Skin examination
To know more about the importance of these screenings, you may read this article.
On top of it all, you should also get the necessary vaccines. Women should get assessed of infection risks yearly, the Woman’s Clinic noted, citing the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Moreover, it should be done with the following factors in mind:
- Health
- Age
- Occupation
- Travel
- Lifestyle
- History of vaccinations
Depending on the findings during the assessment, women will then be advised to get the vaccines that are right for them. Some of the most common vaccines recommended for women are:
- Influenza vaccine
- Varicella
- Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
- Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Td/Tdap)
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine
In case you haven’t heard of it yet, Sinaya Cup has partnered with Bookuna Circle to make HPV vaccines more affordable for Sinaya Tribe members and their friends.
How does the discount work? The more individuals who sign up at a particular clinic, the higher the discount (ranging from 10% to 25%) will be.
When you sign up, select all the clinic locations you’re willing to go to for your jab. It means it’s up to you to decide whether traveling to a particular location is worth the discount. It is worthing, however, that HPV vaccines are generally expensive, so even a small discount can be beneficial.
Interested? Sign up now using this form. You can use this exclusive code: SinayaHPV.
For more info on Bookuna Circle, click here.
Hold leaders accountable and vote wisely
Health tips such as the ones listed here are great, but we have to admit that they can only do so much, especially in a country like ours where not everyone has access to quality health care.
We should also acknowledge the fact that a person’s living condition as well as other factors that are heavily affected by policies have a huge effect on their overall health and wellbeing.
This is why, in order to help not only ourselves but also everyone around us, we should hold our leaders accountable as a way of ensuring that the country’s resources are allotted to the things that truly matter, including health care.
Most importantly, we should vote wisely.
