4 Things to Do to Improve Your Health this Year

Updated on April 9, 2021

2020 was the year that challenged everyone. Many people had to completely modify their lives in order to keep working and surviving. It’s not surprising at all that so many individuals reported feeling more anxiety and stress than ever before.

In 2021, there are three vaccines widely available, and all American adults who want to get one should be able to do so later this month. There are real fans back in the stands at baseball games, and there are many other signs that life should return to normalcy in the not-too-distant future.

However, while there are encouraging signs, you should not forget some of the lessons you’ve learned over the past few months. Many of them can help you remain healthy not just this year but for many years to come. Let’s go over a few things you can do to stay healthy as America and the world continue the long recovery process.

Continue Mask-Wearing

Even before the pandemic, mask-wearing was not unusual in many Asian countries. You would see people wear masks during the winter months, but some wore them year-round, especially on public transportation and in various other public settings.

In the United States alone, between 34,000,000 and 49,000,000 individuals contract the flu during flu season. It doesn’t have to be that way. You can combat the flu and other illnesses by wearing a protective mask over your nose and mouth when you use public transportation or go out in public to a grocery store or other settings.

Some people irrationally don’t like to wear masks because they have made it a political issue. This is illogical and foolish. Masks are not much of an inconvenience if they mean protecting yourself and those around you.

Use Hand Sanitizer Frequently

Many people also learned to use hand sanitizer this past year that never did so before. You don’t need to be a total germaphobe, but it’s still a sensible idea to carry some hand sanitizer and use it frequently during the day.

If you’re out in public, and you know that you are contacting surfaces that many other individuals touch, that’s the time when you want to utilize it. For example, if you’re in the New York subway system and you’re taking a train, you’ll certainly want to apply hand sanitizer after you get up and exit the station.

You’ve been sitting in a spot that thousands of other people have used. Touching your face after touching one of the seats or a similar surface is an easy way to spread germs, and hand sanitizer can prevent that.

Vacuum Your House or Apartment

Most people spent a lot more time in their domiciles this past year than they ever did before. Many had to work from home, and some of them found that they liked that much better than having to commute to work each day.

Vacuuming frequently is one thing that you should do, whether you plan to go back to work in an office or you will continue working from home. It does more than make the house or apartment look tidy.

Vacuuming is the ideal way to get rid of all that dust, pet dander, human hair, and microscopic organisms that can make you sick. If you ever see your apartment or house in a sunbeam, you can see those particles swirling. You breathe those in every day, and if you don’t vacuum the house at least once a week, you’re likely to make yourself sick.

Have Medical Supplies Ready

One more lesson you can take from this past year is that you can have an entire stock of medical supplies ready if you injure yourself or get sick. You should have a medicine cabinet or closet in your home that has a fully equipped first aid kit. That can come in handy if you cut yourself while cooking or fixing something.

You should also have both nighttime and daytime cold medicine, aspirin and acetaminophen, cough drops, and emergency Vitamin C packages that you can mix with water if you get sick and need a vitamin megadose. If you already have those handy, then you can start fighting a cold or some other ailment immediately rather than having to go to the store or ordering off of Amazon.

The pandemic showed us this past year that anything is possible. Even though you can’t know what’s around the bend, you can take a common-sense approach to prevention and health.  

It doesn’t take much to stay ready for the more predictable ailments and injuries that you can suffer. If you do all of the things we mentioned, that’s not just helpful for you. You’ll also be there for your family if you ever have to take care of them.

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