Three Steps to a Healthy Winter

More than ever, people are interested in how to protect their health and maintain a strong immune system. For most people, it is possible to accomplish this goal in three steps.

Keep Germs Out
The simplest way that you can protect your health is to keep the germs from getting into your body. In the days of COVID-19, that means that we avoid people other than those we live with. When we must go out in public, we wear masks and stay 6 feet from others. And we wash our hands or use hand sanitizer frequently. By cutting pathogens off before they can make us sick, we are giving ourselves the best possible head start.

See Your Provider
Your provider’s office is likely one of the safest indoor public places you can be. At Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, everyone in the office is masked and wearing face shields. Exam rooms are sanitized between patients, and a virtual waiting room allows you to wait in your car, so you can maintain a safe distance from others. If you’re not comfortable with an in-person visit, your provider can also see you via telemedicine or phone.

No matter how you visit your primary care provider, it is important that you do so as recommended and whenever concerns arise. Primary care providers help prevent and manage chronic conditions and address any health problems. Many chronic conditions are seriously limiting on their own, but they also have a way of piling up. As soon as you get one, it can lead to another. As we know from COVID, chronic conditions can make other conditions more serious.

Your provider knows your medical history and what screenings and vaccines you need. Getting your annual flu shot and making certain your pneumococcal vaccines are current are great ways to limit the chance of a serious illness this winter.  Most importantly, primary care providers can offer the advice you need to complete the most powerful of all health-related tasks: building a healthy routine.

Build a Healthy Routine
A healthy routine is a regular set of habits that protect you from disease and promote wellbeing. (Random circumstances can still come up and throw you off, but a healthy routine is a really good start to a long and healthy life.) Almost every adult person’s day should include 7 – 9 hours of sleep, a diet rich in healthy foods, 30-minutes or more of moderate aerobic physical activity, some fresh air, and some positive interaction with family or friends. If most of your days include these components, you are far more likely to be healthy than sick.  

Over many years of study, we know that there are some common things that commonly stand in the way of good healthy routines: tobacco use, excessive alcohol, lack of physical activity, and high-sugar diets. We are also beginning to learn how overexposure to news or other media—especially programs that illicit high stress—can disrupt sleep and increase anxiety.

Building a healthy routine can be difficult, especially for those who have had few role models. I recommend attempting one small change at a time and mastering it before moving on to the next small change. You will begin to notice the benefits accumulating slowly over time: more energy, improved mood, and better health. Even if your routine is already pretty healthy, there is always room to improve and new benefits to discover.

Following these steps—keeping germs out, seeing your provider, and taking an always-improving approach to a healthy routine—are great assurance of a healthy winter and a healthy life.

Dr. Richard Wiseman is a primary care physician at SVMC Internal Medicine.