As January draws to a close, I am sure many of our well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions are beginning to fade to a dim memory.
In an effort to keep myself motivated and in the spirit of the New Year’s holiday, I polled the team at America’s Health Ranking on our resolutions for the year.
The unanimous answer: We resolve to continue to serve as your go-to resource for understanding health at the state level. To that end, throughout 2014 the team will be hard at work to:
- Continue to develop tools to help you measure, track and visualize health data state-by-state
- Build partnerships with public and private organizations that demonstrate measurable ways to improve health
- Find and highlight examples of state-level programs that are helping members of the community lead healthier lives
- Develop exciting plans for our 25th edition of America’s Health Rankings®, which we’ll launch in December 2014
As we strive to advance our goals in 2014, we also encourage each of you to carry out your own resolutions for living healthier. Remember, even small changes to our daily routine can go long way if we’re consistent with them. Below are three, easy-to-follow ideas you might consider:
- Walk. Whether it’s leaving the keys behind when your errands are just around the corner or taking the stairs at work, look for opportunities to increase walking time.
- Get enough sleep. Too few hours of shut eye can take a toll on both mental and physical health, so make it a priority to get a good night’s rest.
- Write it down. Taking notes when you were active or what you ate each day can help you keep tabs on progress and provide a basis for setting new goals. Don’t forget to explore the many apps available to help make this easier.