Tips for staying healthy in the new year

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — As many of us look to make resolutions in the new year, health experts are offering up some ideas for good habits to adopt in 2023.

Hien Slagel, a Rite Aid pharmacy manager in Grand Rapids, had a couple of tips to stay on top of things. She said it’s important to know your immunization status. At the beginning of the year, she said it’s a good idea to map out what vaccinations you are due for or what you should consider taking based on your age and lifestyle.

She also suggested cleaning out your medicine cabinet and getting rid of pills that are past their expiration date.

Slagel also said the new year is a good time focus on improving your sleep quality and making efforts to stick to an exercise plan.

“Exercising if you want to lose weight, if you have something specific you want to get done, write it down. Put the goals that you want long term as far as just maintaining your health or improving your health,” she said. “Don’t get discouraged if you happen to say fall of the wagon, or if you aren’t there in a week or a month or even six months. It takes time. Sometimes you have to reevaluate your goals and see what you’ve already established. So if you’ve … dropped like a pound, that good. You’ve just got to keep going.”

For people who take a variety of medications and even vitamins and supplements from different sources, experts say the new year is a good time to gather them all together and consult with your doctor about how to avoid unintended interactions and side effects.