Taking care of yourself despite stress

We all know the feeling: you're so absorbed by your work, family, and everyday life that you hardly have any time left for yourself and your interests. On top of that, you wanted to start exercising more, eating healthily, and ideally reading a book or two. Often, these are just pipe dreams, and the reality is that you feel tired and pay even less attention to these things.

Work, family, everyday life... Don't forget to look after yourself

Our bodies can cope with a lot, but if this state of affairs continues for a long time, it increases the likelihood of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The nasty thing about it is that you usually don't notice that a chronic disease is developing until it's too late. It's not for nothing that high blood pressure is also called the silent killer.

Blood pressure monitors are inexpensive, and pharmacies often offer free measurements

Our recommendations for you:

• Watch your weight and consciously counteract upward fluctuations, because maintaining your weight is easier than losing weight.
• Know your values:
• BMI: Although outdated, as it does not take muscle mass into account, it is still a key figure to keep in mind. Calculate it for free here if you know your weight: gesundheitsfoerderung.ch
  • Blood pressure: Blood pressure monitors are available from Galaxus starting at CHF 14. Many pharmacies often offer this measurement free of charge (see pharmacy website).
  • HbA1c: Long-term blood sugar provides information about the average blood sugar level over the last 3 months or so and is a clear indicator of prediabetes. Costs vary between CHF 30 and CHF 69 – it is worth comparing providers such as your family doctor's practice, pharmacy, or walk-in labs.
  • Cholesterol levels: These provide information about fat metabolism and are important indicators of the risk of cardiovascular disease. From CHF 39 to CHF 79, there is also a very wide variation between different providers.
• Exercising once is better than not exercising at all! You don't have to start with big goals and training plans, but can visit the nearby fitness trail or go for a jog before or after work without having to prepare too much.

Stay on the ball, because prevention is better than cure.