Simple Health Habits That Doctors Recommend

With a busy job and a busy home, unhealthy habits can creep into your daily routine. Don’t let your habits and hobbies derail a healthy lifestyle. Caitlin Lawes, DO, family medicine doctor with the Franciscan Physician Network Winfield Health Center in Crown Point, Ind., explains how you can build healthy habits daily, weekly and yearly.

Key Takeaways: Healthy Habits

• For those who have a sedentary job, take 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity each day, which can be broken up into shorter segments.
• Engage with puzzles such as word searches, crossword puzzles or similar phone apps daily to constantly train your brain.
• Replace smoke breaks with outdoor walks. Use the hobbies you enjoy to distract you from the urge to smoke. Test its effectiveness weekly.
• Schedule routine checkups once a year. Avoid skipping your colon cancer screening, mammography, breast cancer screening and routine lab work.
• Meal shopping and preparation on the weekends can help you maintain a healthier meal schedule throughout the week.

Daily Habits For Brain And Heart Health

Even though many people don’t think about it often, your brain and body are constantly working together. When both are in great condition, you’ll function better on a daily basis and throughout the years. Check out these ways to keep your brain and heart healthy with simple habits.

Exercise helps body and brain

“To maintain brain health, you have to stay physically active,” Dr. Lawes said. “You have to keep moving to keep the blood flowing to your brain and keep all of your metabolic conditions under control.”

She explained that we need to be physically active to maintain a healthy heart and avoid exhausting ourselves with simple daily tasks.

For those who have a sedentary job, Dr. Lawes suggested making time for 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity throughout the day, which can be broken up into shorter segments.

“If all that our heart has to do is maintain things while we're sitting, it's not going to be as strong and well-functioning compared to when we challenge it every day with some activity,” Dr. Lawes said.

Dr. Lawes explained that the goal is to maintain healthy blood sugar levels since diabetes increases your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Challenge yourself mentally

“The other habit we can lean into is puzzles that can train your brain,” Dr. Lawes said. “It's easier to access puzzles now with cell phone puzzle games to keep us mentally sharp.”

She shared examples of brain-training puzzles, such as word searches, crossword puzzles and Sudoku.

Be social

Dr. Lawes also explained that it’s crucial to be social as often as possible, such as going out in public to talk with others and taking breaks from screens, as that activates different areas of our brains.

Exchange smoke breaks for self-care

As for smoking, Dr. Lawes encourages those who are trying to quit to take up grounding and deep breathing outdoors for stress-relief alternatives. She explained that for smokers, sometimes it’s more about stepping outside to take a break than the act of smoking. Instead, you should keep cigarettes out of reach and step outside your job or home to get some sunlight and take deep breaths of fresh air.

The CDC recognizes this as one of its tips to distract yourself from smoking. When you have an urge to smoke, focus on what’s happening around you instead. Use your eyes and ears to take in sights and sounds during a break.

Other ways to distract yourself from your smoking habit include:

• Listen to music
• Take a walk
• Exercise
• Talk to a friend
• Do a puzzle
• Watch shows, movies or funny videos
• Play video games

“It’s entirely reasonable to tell your employer that you’re going to take a break and take a five-minute walk to sneak in physical activity and fresh air,” Dr. Lawes said. “Sometimes we just need to see some sunlight as human beings, even during our work hours.”

Manage blood pressure and cholesterol

“Blood pressure and cholesterol control are very important for our overall health,” Dr. Lawes said.

Your blood pressure is like a system of pipes and filters, she explained. When your blood pressure is too high, it’ll cause damage to those pipes and filters. The goal is to maintain the homeostasis within your blood pressure system so it can pump optimally and avoid arrhythmia or even heart failure, she explained.

You can help keep your blood pressure under better control through daily exercise, dieting and for some, prescribed medications and blood pressure monitoring to address health concerns early.

“In the event that you have a heart attack or a stroke, we want to drive that cholesterol number down,” Dr. Lawes said.

Even Weekend Habits Matter For Long-Term Health

What you do on the weekend matters more than you might think. While weekdays are often about survival mode, weekends offer a rare window to reset — and how you use that window can have a real impact on your long-term health.

Family physicians often point out that health isn't just built in the doctor's office but in the small, repeatable choices we make in our everyday lives. Weekends offer a valuable chance to reinforce habits that support long-term wellness.

Here are a few simple habits worth building into your Saturday and Sunday.

Prioritize sleep, but don't overdo it

While the idea of sleeping in on weekends may be tempting, your body also thrives on routine. Aim to wake up at the same time each day to maintain your body’s circadian rhythm.

Meal prep for the week ahead

A few hours on the weekend spent shopping and preparing snacks, grab-and-go breakfasts or dinner prep can help set up healthier eating during the busy work week.

Reconsider routines that lead you to smoking and vaping

“Smoking and vaping are absolutely terrible for your health,” Dr. Lawes said. “Smoking increases your risk for most types of cancer and cell turnover. It’s also causes damage to your lungs and causes the cells responsible for filtering out toxins and helping keep our lungs clean and healthy to burn out.”

Ending a habit of smoking or drinking is not an easy task, but replacing them with healthier habits, self-checks and new strategies one week at a time can put you back in control.

Keep your social drinking in moderation, if at all

“You're OK to have a little bit of alcohol unless you have some underlying health-related issues,” Dr. Lawes said. “As for those who do not have underlying health concerns, it's OK to have a single glass of wine or champagne to celebrate a special occasion. “I can't imagine going to a Bears game and not having a beer. So it's OK once in a while for social enjoyment or overall mental well-being.”

Dr. Lawes suggested swapping alcohol for lighter drink choices when you’re dining or at an event or gathering.

“One thing that I think is amazing about the younger generation is their healthy habits,” Dr. Lawes said. “It's easier than ever to go get mocktails as substitutes for alcohol at bars and these kids are doing more of that.”

Make plans to prepare for temptations

Create a list of ideas to distract yourself from smoking, drinking or other habits you’re trying to break and choose an idea from the list when you feel the urge to fall back into habits. Try out these new ideas and habits each week and see what works best for your daily or weekend routines.

Yearly Habits To Stay On Top Of Your Overall Health

Building your daily habits and evaluating them throughout the weeks should be an effective way to stay on top of your overall health, but don’t forget about doctor’s appointments and screenings throughout the year.

Go to routine checkups are important even if you feel healthy

“First, I recommend routine checkups at least once a year,” Dr. Lawes said. “Get an appointment for blood pressure, weight, heart and lungs to make sure that everything looks and sounds good.”

Dr. Lawes explained that routine checkups are an important habit because certain conditions can be silent killers.

“Conditions like uncontrolled hypertension, pre-diabetes, or chronic kidney disease can be simmering under the surface and you may not feel any symptoms, if not vague symptoms,” Dr. Lawes said. “At most, you may just feel a little bit more tired than usual or out of breath.”

Get any labs your doctor recommends

“As for routine lab work, we want to check on your kidney numbers, look for signs of diabetes or prediabetes, signs of anemia or deficiency in certain vitamins or minerals that are simple fixes that can lead to long-term problems down the road,” Dr. Lawes said.

She compared attending a health screening to when your car starts making a noise, where a $50 fix right now can avoid a $10,000 fix down the road.

Screenings you shouldn’t skip

“I feel like the ‘big three’ screenings that patients most commonly don’t consider or skip entirely would be a colon cancer screening, mammography, breast cancer screening and routine lab work,” Dr. Lawes said.

In addition to cancer screenings, talk to your doctor about heart screenings that are right for you based on your age and health history.

“It's a good idea to also get a coronary calcium scoring with the Franciscan Health imaging department to help give us an idea of how your body is affected by cholesterol level,” Dr. Lawes said.

A coronary calcium screening can help doctors get a picture of your overall heart health and develop a plan to address any issues and prevent many strokes and heart attacks.

All of these screenings are vital for early intervention, which can prevent many more significant health conditions in the future.

Effort Daily; Evaluate Weekly; Health Screenings Yearly

With a focus on daily efforts like physical and mental health habits, like taking a walk or puzzle games, you’ll build habits in no time, all while finding new hobbies that you’ll learn to love. Getting rid of bad habits takes more time, so lean into healthy or relaxing distractions like socializing, taking a walk or listening to music when you feel an urge to pick up bad habits again. Finally, get a full review through health screenings with your provider to make sure you don’t have any underlying health issues and address any concerns early.