How to maintain a Health Planner checklist

Book in for a medical
Let's get the tough one out of the way first if you didn't have a checkup last year, book one now.Talk to your doctor about which tests you need and whether your family history calls for any extra checks. Some hospitals offer packages. For a full list of the medical tests recommended for your age group visit labtestonline

Work out in the morning
Exercise first thing in the morning, when your stomach is empty, and you'll burn off more fat. Research shows that people who start their day with a workout tend to stick to their exercise program longer. So set your alarm! For more motivational exercise tips visit mydoctor

Daily
If you have a desk job, stretch regularly to avoid neck, back and shoulder pain.Try this: place your fingertips on your shoulders with your elbows pointing out. Move elbows as far back and then as far forward as you can ten times. Now repeat down and up. For more stretches, try intelehealth

Update your first-aid kit
You never know when you might have to play doctors and nurses for real, so always keep the tools of the trade in good nick. Your first-aid kit should include plasters, eye patches, dressings, bandages, alcohol swabs, eyewash, safety pins, scissors, tweezers and surgical gloves. For more informationt visit first aid

Get calm with classical music
Our heart rate, breathing and blood pressure all move along with the tempo of the music we're listening to, according to researchers. So to temper the pace, reshuffle your CDs, listen to violinists like Lalgudi Jayaraman, or tune in to the Maestro channel on a Worldspace satellite radio.

Be sun smart
Innumerable Indians get dehydrated in the summer. Along with water lost from sweat, the body can lose electrolytes, and you can even get a heat stroke. So drink 10 glasses of water or juices a day and cut back on diuretics like colas, coffee, tea, alcohol that increase water elimination.

Eat more roughage
To stay healthy, we need 30 grams of fiber a day yet most people consume only 65 percent of that recommended amount. Simply introduce more fiber into your diet by choosing cereal that contains barley, wheat or oats for breakfast; eating whole meal bread for lunch; and adding an extra serving of veggies to your dinner plate.

Reassess your health insurance
Health cover should change with your life circumstances. You need to reassess it every year, tailoring your risk profile to your needs. If you're young and healthy, there's a good chance you won't need cover for kidney dialysis, for instance-so why pay for it? Call an agent and discuss a family insurance package.

Cut down on salt
Season your food with lemon juice, vinegar, pepper, spices and fresh herbs instead. We know too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, but studies also show links to osteoporosis and kidney disease. Don't be fooled into thinking rock salt, vegetable salt, celery salt are healthy alternatives. They are not.

Get your vitamin D
Don't cut out the sun completely to keep your complexion looking fairer. You need vitamin D, which sunshine provides more than food does. Lack of D can lead to a host of problems like cancer and osteoporosis. Urban Indians tend to get little sunshine. Walk in the sun for 20 to 30 minutes just after sunrise or before sunset.

Visit the dentist
Very few of us go to the dentist unless there's something wrong. If you didn't make it last year, fix an appointment today and start flossing - the best way to get food out of your teeth. Regular brushing is not enough-if you flossed after meals, your oral health improves and the risk of tooth decay reduces.

Become a code breaker
Complete a crossword over breakfast or solve a sudoku over lunch and you could boost your IQ. Mental challenges, when carried out daily, stimulate new glial cells (the brain's housekeepers) that keep the neurons clean and stimulate the brain. Play free sudokus online or on printouts at sudokusonline

Plan a real break
We're taking shorter and fewer breaks, so the pressure to plan the perfect holiday is with higher than ever. Resist the index and middle temptation to organize jampacked itineraries that will leave you stressed and exhausted. Instead consider a few weekends away next year. And don't underestimate the recuperative powers of doing nothing while on leave.

Donate blood
India & the world needs millions of bottle of blood donations a week to keep up with demand-so why not chip in? Have your blood pressure and hemoglobin levels checked before donating. One in three people will need blood at some point in their life, and few healthy people realize this or care to donate.

Protect your ears
If a noise or music is so loud that you have to shout to be heard by someone at arm's length, then it's harming your ears. If you suffer from a ringing sensation in your ears, find it hard to hear conversation, especially if there is background noise or need your TV louder than other people, get your hearing checked.

Stay positive
An optimistic outlook often stimulates the production of more T-cells, which boost your immunity. So next time stress bites, spend ten percent of your time thinking about the problem and 90 per cent on the solution. Don't obsess over what went wrong-seek the positives and move forward.

Are you sleeping enough?
Take stock of your sleep habits. A recent poll showed that 29% of Indians went to sleep only after midnight and 61% slept for seven hours or less. Indians are also among the world's earliest risers-which which would have been good if we also went to sleep early. Change your routine so that you get at least eight hours of sleep every night.