Consumer Health Minute: Health Goals

Posted by Carolyn Martin on January 3rd, 2025 Posted in: Consumer Health
Tags: consumer health, health and wellness, health information

---

Happy New Year! At the beginning of every new year, many people make resolutions to improve themselves or make significant life changes. According to Pew Research, of those who do make resolutions, 79 % were health related.

However, it can be hard to stick to those resolutions for lots of different reasons. But this post isn’t about analyzing these resolutions but about what kind of information might be helpful to offer your patrons and clients as they work for a healthier life. There are lots of health-related goals and lots of resources which can be a bit overwhelming. This post will stick with just a few topics and just 3 resources that are freely available.

Health Checkup

Health checkups can be a great way to start off improving health. Having an annual check-up is a preventive measure to keep healthy. It may include some medical tests such as checking cholesterol, blood pressure, and checking for cancer. It may include keeping up on vaccines and a conversation about healthy habits. And, keeping up on dental health is important too.

• MedlinePlus health topic page, Health Checkup
• My Health Finder, Regular Checkups
• MedlinePlus health topic page, Dental Health

Smoking

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 1 in 5 deaths are caused by smoking. Smoking negatively affects all of our body’s organs and increases the risk of several diseases. Stopping is not easy but some tools/resources to provide include:

• MedlinePlus health topic page, Quitting Smoking
• National Cancer Institute, SmokeFree.gov
• CDC, How to Quit Smoking

Sleep

In recent years, several studies have highlighted how important sleep is to good health. Poor sleep can increase the risk of diseases such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

• MedlinePlus health topic page, Healthy Sleep
• American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Healthy Sleep Videos
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Sleep Diary

Stress

Life can be very stressful. Jobs, family, school, the news, finances, expectations, etc. can all make life stressful. When stress is experienced long term, it isn’t healthy. But how to address stress?

• MedlinePlus health topic page, Stress
• American Psychological Association topic, Stress along with 5 quick videos about managing stress
• National Institute of Mental Health, Publications About Stress

Consider including some or all of these links in your collection or resources. You never know, one of these may be just what your patrons and clients find helpful. Here’s to healthier communities in 2025!