According to the department of health, over half of all Australians have conditions that could have been prevented. The reasoning behind that could be due to lifestyle choices, but also due to identifying the condition too late.

Staying on top of one’s help is so important, not only to keep you feeling your best, but to catch anything serious early. Here are our top tips for staying on top of your health care.

Telehealth

A big barrier for many people when it comes to taking control of their health is having to travel to the doctor’s office and wait around, but thanks to the telehealth options on offer now, you can now make an appointment with a doctor and see them in minutes.

The MyPractice app is an Australian start-up that has already amassed over 100, 000 patients. It is free to download and allows patients to easily manage both their face-to -face and telehealth appointments. Patients can also get prescriptions sent to their local pharmacy for collection, they can have their medicine delivered to their home and keep their medical documents filed, which is especially helpful if they are seeing multiple doctors. The app allows for better doctors to patient communication and is a huge time saver. In many cases, you can also claim your appointments on Medicare too.

Calendars

It is easy to lose track of important dates for health check-ups, from cancer checks to vaccine boosters, and it gets even harder when you need to keep track of this information for others too, such as your kids. Keep a calendar and/or book these appointments in advance. Most clinics and apps will send you a reminder before the appointment, so that is another good way to ensure you don’t miss these important check-ups.

Diet and exercise

Seeing a doctor is wonderful for keeping on track with your tests and asking for educated advice on your health, however your diet, fitness, sleep, water intake, mental health and lifestyle is so important for your wellbeing.

A healthy diet should consider of whole foods and food is as natural a state as possible. Ideally keep away from packets and highly processed food.

Aim to sleep 8- hours and have a mindfulness practise to help assist with sleep. It may be meditation, journaling, a mindful walk, listening to relaxing music. Having a mindfulness practise will help assist you with stress management, should help you sleep better and should help you be a happier person.

Make sure you are drinking a lot of water each day. According to research by SodaStream, 80% of Australians suffer from symptoms typical of dehydration and the majority don’t recognise the key symptoms. Staying hydrated is very important.

Be in tune with your body

Being self-aware and learning how to see the signs when you are not feeling quite right is key. Sure, we will all feel more tired some days, but if you feel off and it seems to be persistent, investigate it then. Your body may be trying to tell you something.