With the start of a new day, many of us have vow to drink less alcohol, save more, stop smoking or go on a diet. We believe the magic of a new day will give us new will power and motivation to go cold turkey on the things we have made habitual over a period of several months or years.

Unless you have personal reasons to keep you motivated, very few of us will actually kick the bud or take out that gym contract, so instead of demotivating yourself, focus on the little things that will improve your health and overall wellbeing without requiring a support group to keep you going.

Don’t let the bed bugs bite

Do you love the feeling of clean, crisp and fresh sheets when you snuggle into bed at night with the comforting aroma of pure cleanliness? Well, then that should not be your only motivation to wash your bed linen.

As we toss and turn during our sleep, people naturally shed undetectable skin cells on their beds which dust mites just love to get rid of. Fortunately the dead skin cells disappear, but the dust mites just keep coming, which is why it is very important to frequently wash your linen in hot water at least once or twice every second week.

If you suffer from allergies, frequently washing your sheets will also improve recurring symptoms by getting rid of the pollen and dust that settles on your linen during the course of the day or week.

Grinding your teeth

Waking up with a sore jaw, dull headache or earache are all tell-tale signs of bruxism, otherwise known as teeth grinding. Experts believe daily stress may be the cause of sub-conscious jaw clenching or forceful sliding of the teeth against each other, whether during the day or whilst asleep.

 If left untreated, teeth grinding can result in various problems such as damaged teeth, broken fillings, jaw joint problems and headaches. Although common in up to 50% of children, bruxism only occurs in 15% of adults as the problem tends to fade as you get older.

However bruxism can cause serious damage to teeth and as a result the repair thereof can be quite expensive. This is why most dentists recommend an oral check-up at least once a year to ensure healthy teeth and the early diagnosis and treatment of bruxism.

Eating when you are not hungry

We have all done it, we eat to please people at a dinner party, or treat ourselves to a delicacy for doing something we feel proud of, or simply to enjoy a movie with a large bucket of popcorn. While it seems innocent at the time, these are symptoms of having lost track of the basic nourishment principles: eat when hungry, sleep when tired.

Feeling overfull, unsatisfied or uncomfortable after having a meal, may signal that you were not hungry or as hungry as you previously thought yourself to be. In order to prevent this sluggish, unsatisfactory feeling, start by learning what hunger feels like to you.

This could be a slight pang in your stomach or a craving for a particular food, whatever hunger feels like to you, learn to recognise it and then act on it, stopping when you feel satisfied and comfortably full. Your cholesterol level, weight and pocket will thank you for it.

Remembering to take your medication

Forgetting to take your medication when necessary can have very serious repercussions, or forgetting if you have taken it already and taking another dose can be even more dangerous. But sometimes it’s easy to forget about our prescriptions during the morning rush or daily distractions.

If you find that you are constantly forgetting your medication or even your daily vitamins start by incorporating them into your routine. This can be done by putting them next to the kettle for when you make your morning coffee or place them somewhere obvious in a pill container which is available from most chemists and will keep your pills organized for each day of the week. This will also help you to see whether you have taken the day’s pills at a simple glance.

If this does not work, place a sticky note on the fridge or on your mirror that will remind you to take your medication and at what time, soon enough it will be ingrained in your memory and you won’t need the help of a reminder.

Take a deep breath of fresh air

We have all heard the saying, ‘a little fresh air will do you the world of good’, in fact your mother or doctor were spot on when they recommended this to you. The air we breathe in, in our homes or at our work places are seldom well ventilated, thus stale and polluted with dust, chemical products and carbon dioxide.

As a result, we feel tired, anxious and we may even suffer from headaches, dizziness or irritability after six to eight hours in the office at work. It has been proven that fresh air helps improve your heart rate, blood pressure and metabolic rate, as well as improve your immune system and soothe your nerves.

These are just a few of the benefits of fresh air, so if you are stuck in the office or at home all day, ensure that there is sufficient ventilation or step out for a short walk or even just for a five minute ‘fresh air breather’.

Go for a check-up

Very few of us get around to our annual check-up, because we simply don’t have the time, resources or because we feel perfectly healthy. You also probably know, or have heard of, someone who was perfectly healthy and were then suddenly diagnosed with cancer or HIV.

Even if we think we are in the prime of our health, prevention is better than cure, which is why it is important to see your doctor at least once a year for an effortless check-up. This simple precaution could help detect early prostate cancer, infertility issues or even a STD which has been lying dormant in your system for months with no visible symptoms - which is often the case.

It may seem like a waste of time or an unnecessary expense, but by ensuring you are healthy or receiving treatment as soon as possible, you are taking responsibility for your health, as well as the health of those that you love and who are dependent on you.

“Your cholesterol level, weight and pocket will thank you for it.”

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