The 12 health tweaks your doctor wants you to make: DR MAX PEMBERTON

I hope you’ve had a Merry Christmas and, like me, are looking forward to a good time on New Year’s Eve.

But come Thursday morning the harsh reality of January will hit home. There’s something touching and slightly dispiriting about that month. Touching, because it represents hope, a belief that this new year will be different. And dispiriting, because as doctors, we know most of our good intentions and resolutions will have evaporated by Valentine’s Day.

After two decades in medicine, I believe most resolutions fail, not because people lack willpower, but because they pick the wrong ones.

Typically, they’re too vague (‘get healthier’) or too ambitious (‘run a marathon by March’). Crucially, the changes that would genuinely add years to your life and life to your years get overlooked entirely.

So today I’m sharing the resolutions I wish my patients would make this Thursday. If you want to feel better, live longer and give your doctor one less thing to worry about, they’re the ones that matter.

Yes, if you’re carrying extra weight, losing a stone or two will dramatically improve your health. But beyond the scales, here are 12 changes to genuinely transform your well being.

Charge your phone outside the bedroom

I see more and more patients whose mental health is being eroded by their smartphones. Endless scrolling, comparison, outrage and disrupted sleep takes a genuine toll.

Try this: Buy a cheap alarm clock and banish your phone from the bedroom. Charge it elsewhere. Most people report feeling calmer, sleeping better and having more time within a week.

Learn something that terrifies you

Learning new skills that feel challenging or uncomfortable, builds new neural pathways and helps protect against cognitive decline. But it needs to be genuinely difficult for you. If you’re musical, learning another instrument won’t cut it. Never touched a piano? Perfect.

Try this: Sign up for a beginners’ class in something that makes you a bit nervous. Public speaking. Life drawing. Salsa dancing. A new language. The discomfort you feel is your brain growing.

Walk for 30 minutes before lunch

Move your body for half an hour each day. The research is unequivocal: regular physical activity reduces your risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression, and several cancers: the closest we have to a miracle drug – and completely free.

Try this: Anchor your walk to something you already do. A lunchtime stroll is a natural break in the day. Get outside, walk for 15 minutes in one direction, turn around and walk back. Do this every working day and you’ll have clocked up two and a half hours of exercise by Friday.

Book hygienist appointments now

Oral health is intimately connected to overall health. Gum disease has been linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even dementia.

The bacteria that cause inflamed gums can enter your bloodstream and cause inflammation elsewhere in your body.

Try this: Call your dental surgery and book two hygienist appointments for this year, roughly six months apart. Put them in your calendar now.

Buy a blood pressure monitor

Read More

Psychiatrist DR MAX PEMBERTON's ultimate guide to the best antidepressant for you

High blood pressure is called the silent killer because it rarely causes symptoms until something catastrophic happens. Yet it’s the single biggest risk factor for stroke and a major contributor to heart attacks, kidney disease and vascular dementia. The only way to know if you have it is to check.

Try this: Buy a validated home blood pressure monitor (£20 to £30), check your blood pressure monthly and keep a record. If it’s consistently above 140/90, see your GP. You might catch a problem before it catches you.

Schedule a weekly phone call with a friend

Loneliness and social isolation are as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Strong social connections are one of the best predictors of longevity and quality of life.

Try this: Choose one friend you’ve been meaning to catch up with and schedule a weekly phone call. Put it in both your diaries as a recurring appointment. Twenty minutes of genuine connection a week adds up. Or commit to writing a card each week, telling someone you were thinking of them and giving them your news. A hand-written note lifts the spirits.

Have four alcohol-free days every week

January is the perfect time to reassess your relationship with alcohol. Guidelines recommend no more than 14 units a week – roughly six pints of beer or six medium glasses of wine – spread across several days.

Try this: Rather than vague promises to ‘drink less’, commit to four completely alcohol-free days a week. Put it in your diary as a non-negotiable appointment. After a month, most patients tell me they sleep better, lose weight and don’t miss it.

Set a bedtime alarm

We treat sleep as optional, something to be squeezed in around everything else. This is madness. Poor sleep is linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, weakened immunity and mental health problems. Most adults need seven to nine hours a night.

Try this: Set an alarm for 10pm (or whatever time gives you eight hours before you need to wake). When it goes off, stop what you’re doing. No more emails, television, or scrolling. Begin your wind-down routine.

Join the debate

Which small lifestyle change do you think makes the biggest difference to your long-term health?

Go to comments

Eat 30 different plants every week

The single best thing you can do for your gut health is eat a wide variety of plants. Research shows people who eat 30 or more different plant foods a week have significantly more diverse gut bacteria than those who eat fewer than ten. This is linked to better immunity, improved mood and lower rates of chronic disease.

Try this: Keep a tally on your fridge. Every different vegetable, fruit, grain, legume, nut, seed, or herb counts as one. That handful of mixed nuts? Five or six. A mixed salad could count as eight.

Volunteer for two hours a month

Volunteering isn’t just good for society. Studies consistently show people who volunteer regularly have lower rates of depression, lower blood pressure and live longer than those who don’t.

It gives a sense of purpose, connects you with others, and forces you to forget your own worries.

Try this: Visit your local volunteer centre’s website or search for opportunities on Do It (doit.life). Commit to just two hours a month to start.

Stub out your last cigarette

Nothing you do this year will have a bigger impact on your health than quitting smoking. Every cigarette takes roughly 11 minutes off your life.

Within 48 hours of stopping, your nerve endings begin to regrow and your sense of smell and taste improve. Within a year, your risk of heart disease halves.

Try this: Book an appointment with your GP this week specifically to discuss quitting. Ask about varenicline or the new cytisine tablets. Set a quit date within the next fortnight and tell someone about it.

Book an NHS Health Check

Are you 40 to 74 years of age and haven’t had an NHS Health Check in the last five years? Book one. They’re free, take 20 minutes and can identify problems before they get serious.

Try this: Call your GP surgery today and ask to book an NHS Health Check. Many pharmacies offer them. Check whether you’re due any cancer screenings too.