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“The Difference Is Exercise”: 37 Doctors Share Their Biggest Advice They Have From Experience
You all have limited time each day to do what you need and want. No matter what, you have to prioritize—unless you’re Superman or The Flash, you won’t get everything done. Naturally, this means that some important responsibilities or fun pastimes may get left by the wayside. But if you don’t find a way to balance this out, you might find yourself seriously struggling further down the line.
For instance, it’s a horrible idea to put your health, diet, fitness, and positive relationships in last place. These should all be your top priorities. Some doctors took to a popular online thread to share their best advice for anyone and everyone hoping to take care of their health. Scroll down for their tips. They’re a great reminder of what to focus on in the new year and all the other years to come.
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#1
Exercise. It’s the biggest difference I see in my patients. 90 year olds that feel and act 65 and 65 year olds who act and feel 90. See it in my office every day. The difference is exercise. You don’t have to do anything crazy. Just do something and be consistent. I will also add that in my opinion the majority of arthritis is genetic programming (not age, weight, sports etc.) and the only thing that slows it down is, you guessed it, exercise. No cure for arthritis and nothing significant on the horizon for it. -Ortho surgeon.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
It is really hard to exercise when you have something like fibromyalgia, but it is so important to try. Get about 20 mins of gentle exercise (walking, aqua aerobics etc) a day and you can feel less pain and your mood often improves. The hardest part is getting started and that goes for many conditions.
RELATED:
#2
Stop drinking alcohol.
Seriously, alcohol is so bad for you in so many f****d up ways.
#3
Use ear plugs and preserve your hearing for as long as possible. Noise induced hearing loss is the #1 preventable hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss is the #1 modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.
Mowing the lawn? Ear plugs. Attending a concert or even a loud bar with live music? Ear plugs. Shooting a gun (yes even just one shot)? Ear plugs.
Ear plugs come in pretty styles and designs these days. Spend a few extra dollars on the musicians ear plugs to maintain good speech understanding.
Ear plugs are cool. Protect your ears!
CanadianDimes 2 days ago
It all earplugs are created equally, too. Check the decibel filter on them when you’re buying. The higher that is, the more noise it reduces.
Taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional health is a lot of hard work. It requires discipline, dedication, and sacrifice. If it were easy, everyone would be fit, and there wouldn’t be things like the current global obesity epidemic.
The World Health Organization reports that around 1 in 8 people live with obesity. In 2022, 2.5 billion adults were found to be overweight (43% of the global adult population); 890 million of them were obese.
Obesity doesn’t just impact your self-esteem, it also vastly increases the risks of getting serious diseases and conditions ranging from heart disease, stroke, and various cancers to depression. You’re also more likely to develop asthma, reflux, gallstones, liver disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, as well as fertility issues.
Furthermore, being obese wrecks the quality of your daily life because it can lead to chronic exhaustion, back and joint pains, breathlessness, and social isolation.
#4
If you’re having surgery/a procedure, don’t lie to your anesthesiologist. No, we don’t judge but we do need to know.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
It helps if you see them the day of your surgery though. I was having four impacted wisdom teeth taken out and the meeting with the anaesthetist was about 4 weeks before. I gave them all my current info, medications etc then, but in the time before my surgery my gastritis, which had gone away prior to first appointment, came back and I had to start back on meds for it. Meds which I hadn't taken the morning before surgery because I had to fast. I spoke to the nurse before the operation and she went through my listed medications and I mentioned I needed to add the one for gastritis and the nurse got really agro at me and said I should have told the anaesthetist and how serious it could have been if she didn't know. I tried to explain why I didn't, but by that point I was really anxious so I stammered and she wasn't listening anyway. I went into the surgery anxious and then when I came out of the anaesthetic I had a panic attack because there was a lot of mucus in my throat and I felt
#5
MD here. Be curious.
Why are you are the way you are; how you think the way you think; what you do the way you do it. None of us are given a manual for being, yet understanding our being provides so much more agency in life. If you can afford therapy, great. If not, self help books/audiobooks, CBT apps, online courses and workshops, podcasts and youtube channels, journaling, mindfulness/meditation, and self reflection exercises are all helpful.
All the other things you'll likely read here - exercise, stopping alcohol/cigarettes, eating healthy, better sleep hygiene, wearing sunscreen, oral hygiene - they're behavioral changes made easier when you understand your behaviors/cognitions themselves.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
One of the best therapies I had, during my first big fibromyalgia flare up, was seeing a counsellor who specialised in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, because she knew exactly how I must be feeling and why. Individualised care is so important.
#6
Not a Doc but a friend of mine is, I sent him this and he replied in all caps "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO GET SECOND OPINIONS!!!!!".
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
My brother had a sore leg one time, mum thought it must have been broken (I can't remember if he fell or something, he wasn't very mobile). The family GP looked at it (without taking xrays) and said 'no, I don't think it's broken but it wouldn't matter much anyway since he can't walk'. Mum was outraged and went to the other doctor in the clinic who sent him for xrays and of course it was broken and he was put in a cast. We transitioned fully to the other doctor after that (we went to her anyway for any female issues)! One of the added benefits was that my sister, who was terrified of needles and I had to physically hold down while the previous doctor gave our yearly flu injections etc, found the new doctor was much calmer and kinder and she managed to get over the fear. I doubt whether my mum and I would have ever been diagnosed with fibromyalgia if we had stayed with the original doctor.
With all of this in mind, it’s vital for you to put in daily effort to move more, eat better, sleep properly, and drink plenty of water. The exact guidelines might vary from source to source and might impact you differently due to your genetics, environment, and lifestyle. Nonetheless, you should aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, avoid ultra-processed foods, get around 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, and drink 2 to 3 liters of water per day. Again, the exact numbers might look different depending on who you are and what you do, but these are the general guidelines.
But setting your fitness and nutrition aside for a moment, you shouldn’t forget your social life. A decades-long study from Harvard found that it’s your positive relationships that have the biggest impact on your health, happiness, and longevity. In short, when you invest your time and effort into deepening your relationships with awesome people, you bounce back from all the stress that life throws at you much quicker.
Negative relationships, on the other hand, are detrimental to your health. And social isolation is as toxic as being a heavy smoker. So, no matter your fitness level, you should not sideline the people you love. Spending time with them and around them isn’t just enjoyable, it also does amazing things for your overall health.
#8
Dermatologist here.
Everybody recommends wearing sunscreen every day, but I honestly don't care about that.
Wear sunscreen when you're going to get a lot of sun. When you're outside all day, going to the beach, going on a road trip, playing tennis, etc. Don't let yourself sunburn.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
If you wear sunscreen during the days where you get the most sun, and you don't let yourself get burned, you should be able to minimize most of your risk of skin cancer.
Sure, wearing sunscreen every day at all times is amazing, especially for reducing photoaging, but just wearing sunscreen during the big times and preventing sunburns is huge for reducing skin cancers.
#9
Not a doctor, but a dietitian.
If you need help managing your diet/nutrition needs/anything to do with food - don't ask your doctor. Find a *registered* dietitian (NOT A NUTRITIONIST)..
Doctors usually don't know jack s**t about any of it.. and some of the s**te my patients have told me their doctors have told them make me want to bash my head against a wall.. repeatedly..
Seriously.. so much bad advice..
Oh, and if doctors could stop telling people that all their issues would be solved if they just lost weight.. and refusing to delve any deeper unless they do so - that would be great! The amount of patients I've watched slowly die because of this also makes me want to bash my head against a wall..
Yes, we all know being obese isn't great for your health.. but, there are so many things that can prevent a person from losing weight.. and you're leaving your patients in a really s****y spot by not continuing to investigate while patients try and lose said weight.. PLEASE help your f*****g patients.. don't just tell them they're fat and call it a day..
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
I was referred to a dietitian when I had issues with cholesterol. Unfortunately she didn't have much to say about how to stop snacking at night, or better things to snack on, but she is the one who told me to get tested for coeliacs disease. Silly me, I had not thought about all the things that were pointing to it (low iron and vitamin D, symptoms when I ate gluten and having one faulty gene for coeliacs!) and was happy to believe it was just an intolerance!
Before you make any drastic changes in your life—say, at the start of the new year to become a better version of yourself—talk to your doctor. If you’ve been living an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle for years or decades, you should change your expectations. We all want to look and feel great with minimal effort, but you won’t get results very quickly. Your doctor can give you some tailored advice for how you should approach getting fit. Meanwhile, they’re bound to help you out if you want to move away from unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking alcohol, or excessive caffeine consumption.
Commit to making a handful of small changes, incrementally changing your life over the upcoming weeks, months, and years. What you’re aiming for is sustainable change and a lifestyle you can keep up indefinitely, not burning out and regressing once your initial burst of motivation dries up.
Find some physical activities that you genuinely love doing so that you can maintain the habit even when you’re not feeling 100%. For yours truly, that’s hiking and swimming. For you, it might be soccer, dancing, weightlifting, martial arts, jogging, puppy yoga, or any combination of the hundreds of ways people have found to make moving fun. Whatever you do, getting into the habit of doing it is more important than how intense the exercise is at first. Break a sweat, sure, but don’t go overboard. Just be sure to show up the next time… and the time after that, and the time after that, and… you get the idea.
#10
Not a doctor but I work in a hospital; drink some water, it's easy to get dehydrated without realizing it.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 days ago
This is very true. Sometimes hours will pass at my desk without realizing I haven't had water.
#11
Pharmacist: when looking up any health-related info, sites ending in .gov or .edu are the most trustworthy. Some .org are great too, like mayoclinic.
keyboardtek 2 days ago (edited)
I went to a doctor about elevated PSA. When I cited .gov websites and the National Institute of Health websites where I got my information he turned out to be a right winger and said not to trust the government. I was only supposed to trust him as he "had 40 years of experience". I got a second opinion and it turns out he was way behind the latest knowledge about PSA levels.
#12
Emergency Physician - get comfortable with talking about what we refer to as "goals of care" conversations with your family.
In an instance where a family member can't advocate for themselves, what is important to them when it comes to their quality of life?
I see so many situations every day where I have to ask families about if their elderly loved ones were to have the natural process occur and their heart were to stop, would they want want to have CPR done, for instance, which is very violent, often involves breaking ribs, and requires me to put in breathing tubes and connect people to ventilators. It's much more brutal than TV.
In the face of an emergency situation, when your loved one cannot advocate for themselves, I see so much (understandable) "decision paralysis," because people have to think about things they never have discussed before and saying "no" seems like giving up or not advocating for your family.
I had one case of a 102 year old, completely healthy, who came in one day because her body clearly had decided it was done after a beautiful life filled with love and a large family. This family was shocked, because she was "fine yesterday," and wanted "EVERYTHING" done. I tried to tell them that "everything" may not be worth risk of potential pain, suffering, etc; they were in complete shock and decided anything and everything I could do, I should.
This happens every day, and I never blame a family member. That's your mom, grandma, sister, cousin, best friend, etc. I get it. Ultimately (and thankfully), it is not my job to decide whether or not someone receives "everything;" it is the family. But dear god...if I were that 102 year old...I would come back and slap the s**t out of them.
Talk to your family. Talk to your loved ones. Get your state specific goals of care forms and keep copies available. Let your loved ones dictate their care while they still can.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
This is one really good thing about growing up with siblings who had a degenerative condition, we are very good at having these types of conversations. Then of course we had to think about it more when my grandparents got older. Now I know exactly what my parents would want in this type of situation too.
There are tons of other things you can do to live healthier, but you have to weigh them against all your other responsibilities in life, like work, family stuff, studying, hobbies, etc. You don’t want to live a life where you’re only focusing on maintaining your body because there are so many different things to do and see and try in life. Nor do you want to live in a way where you’re ignoring your body’s needs altogether.
For example, be sure to brush your teeth because neglecting your oral health is going to bite you in the future. But not everyone will have the time and patience for a half-hour-long flossing routine. Floss a bit if you can. Do things imperfectly but regularly.
Unless you’ve got millions in your bank account and an army of top-tier doctors on call, you won’t ‘perfectly’ optimize your health like entrepreneur Bryan Johnson. But so long as you get the main things right, you’re good. Remember: prioritize your relationships, move lots, eat well, sleep well, and enjoy life.
#13
Oral health is often overlooked, so this is for anyone who uses a manual toothbrush: If you can afford it, buy a cheap electric toothbrush.
Most people aren’t great with their toothbrush technique and an electric toothbrush makes it so much easier for most people to get plaque off. Just 2 minutes each time, twice a day, point the bristles toward the gum line at a 45-degree angle and let the electric toothbrush do its magic!
#14
I’m a dentist. Don’t drink pop or suck on candy’s all day long. It’s not a big deal to drink a Mountain Dew at lunch and a bag of skittles after dinner or something. Just finish them quickly and don’t do it between meals. If you threw a skittle in your mouth every ten minutes the whole day you are going to get a bunch of cavities. If you eat a bag of skittles in five minutes right after dinner it will have essentially no effect on how many cavities you get.
Mason Kronol 2 days ago
My dad started getting a lot of cavities when he tried to stop smoking and his insurance gave him free Nicorrette or whatever the lozenge you held in your gums were. They didn’t have sugar free at first. At least he was lucky to have great health and dental coverage because he was in a union. (Something trump destroyed in Ohio when he was president. He lied, jobs went to Mexico under his watch. Elon is from Africa, came over on a H1B visa and stayed illegally, he hates Unions. His cars are getting recalled constantly but now he runs NASA. And now they have Bezos on board, he hates unions too. You get what you paid for.)
#15
Not an MD, but a PhD in psychology/neuroscience. Get enough sleep and do so regularly. You’re setting yourself up for serious cardiac and neurological problems later in life if you are constantly accumulating sleep debt now. If you’re one of those people who thinks they don’t need very much sleep or are too busy to get enough sleep, try getting at least 7-8 hours per night for two straight weeks. You’ll see that you’re more effective in work (less distractible, less error-prone) and emotionally centered in general. If you have anxiety-related issues that keep you from sleeping, start exercising (elevated heart rate and preferably work up a bit of a sweat) at least three times per week.
Liz The Biz 1 day ago
Getting enough sleep is easier said than done. My sleep is anything from 20 minutes to 6 hours at the most and has been my entire adult life. It's not getting to sleep that's the problem, it's staying asleep. If anything wakes me up I simply cannot get back off again, even if I've only been asleep for 20 minutes or I can't physically keep my eyes open. I've tried relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, I walk 5 miles every day, I don't use tech before bed, you name it, I've tried it. Sleeping pills don't agree with me so I avoid them. I don't think I have ever woken up feeling refreshed my entire life.
What is the best health tip that you’d give someone hoping to make a change in 2025, dear Pandas? What health advice would you give your younger self if you could send a message back through time?
What do you struggle with the most when it comes to health and fitness? Do you have any health-related regrets? Let us know! We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
#16
Not a dr! But 10 years of dental assisting…
Please floss your teeth. Between your teeth is the dirtiest part.
Skipping it is basically the equivalent of showering and not washing your b******e.
zububonsai 2 days ago (edited)
Now I'm wondering what word is "beeped": Basshole? Bace? Besticles? Brivate parts? Beet? ... (The more I think about it the funnier it gets 😆). Really wondering, please send help (English is not my first or second language). Thanks in advance. 🙏🏻
#17
Not an MD, a hospice nurse. When we reach our natural destination, the folks surrounding you are all you have left. The Harvard study shows community is very important for healthy longevity. Harvard Study
#18
Keep your coins/earrings/batteries/magnets away from children.
Don't buy motorcycles...it's just not worth it.
Don't buy trampolines either.
-MD (Radiologist).
Feathered Dinosaur 2 days ago
But I'll happily suggest riding motorcycles to my worst enemies, muhaha
#19
Nurse, not doctor, but get your colonoscopy done. It’s unpleasant but colon cancer is worse.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
We have free at home testing for people over 60 to check for bowel cancer, before having to go for a colonoscopy in Australia.
#20
There is no one thing anyone can do for their health as good as quitting smoking. If you don't smoke, then having a healthy diet would be the next biggest thing.
Get regular exercise.
Limit/eliminate alcohol consumption.
If you are diabetic, keep very good control of it.
Keep up with regular check ups and don't hesitate to get something checked out if you are concerned. This is even more critical if you have a family history of cancer.
Mason Kronol 2 days ago
I had to go to the ER for COVID. The triage nurse was sure I was a smoker from my voice and cough. But pulling up my records she could see I hadn’t smoked in over 10 years and that even then I was about a 2 pack a week smoker off and on. Do NOT smoke or vape. I am surprised my dad is still alive with his COPD and heart attack etc.oxygen tanks. Just awful. My husband almost died from flu complications from smoking. He luckily quit. It could have been a lot worse.
#21
Ok not a doctor but if something looks off even if minor don’t wait!
one that I ignored for months because I believed it was normal was my bent spine. The clear divot in my side.
Uncle Schmickle 2 days ago
A friend noticed that his neck was gradually getting bigger, because his shirt collars were feeling tighter. Turns out he had cancer, but thankfully it was treatable and he's fine now.
#22
Family medicine doctor here! Please see your primary care doctor! Early detection of hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, high cholesterol, among others are crucial! The damage these conditions can do to your body are very serious! I have many patients in heart failure, kidney failure or with serious diabetic complications due to these conditions being uncontrolled!
Myoviridae 1 day ago
I tried this when I was in my late 20's. I saw a general practitioner (general doctor) to get some routine blood tests to check for things, as well as get a referral for a skin cancer screening. He scoffed at me and said that people my age do not die from skin cancer, but begrudgingly allowed a blood test (yep, high cholesterol... thanks genetics!). Maybe I will get a better response now that I am older.
#23
Not a dr, but told to me by a dr: Do not fly without wearing compression socks.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is no joke - if you throw a saddle embolism/clot you'll be dead in minutes.
In fact, if you're going to be sitting anywhere for 3+ hours with limited ability to get up & move around wear compression socks.
Remi (He/Him) 2 days ago
Also test your compression socks at home. You don't want to be on the plane and realize they're too tight or something
#24
Avoid stress! So many conditions/diseases are flared up by it, and the long term effects of constant elevated cortisol levels really takes a toll on the body. Meditation is a great way to do, just sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, take some deep breaths, and really pay attention to your body. Also doing some light to moderate exercise is the cherry on top. Sincerely, a friendly family med doc.
#25
Sit back and use the backrest in your chair. Your lower back will thank you for it.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
When you are short this is often difficult because it means your feet can't touch the ground! My mum uses another backrest at the back of her chair to combat it, but my posture is usually pretty good so I haven't done that. When other people use my car though they always have to adjust the seat because I have it up pretty straight (but with the lumbar support it has) because it's the one chair I can sit back on.
#26
MD here. Maintain a (somewhat) healthy weight. Don’t smoke cigarettes or drink a lot of alcohol. My parents never did this and it is always amazing to me how I will see patients who look older than my parents and then realize they are 15 years younger.
#27
If you snore get tested for sleep apnea, if you have sleep apnea then treat it.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
The waiting lists for sleep study are very long in Australia, but if there is a sleep apnoea query, you go much higher up the list.
#28
Nurse, but close enough.
If you lose a bunch of weight in a short period of time without trying get your a*s to the a*s doctor.
I've had to cry over terrible cancer tissue samples from young men. Like damn, he's 37 with young kids on stage 4. That one got optimistic 6 months. We sent flowers and doc called his wife and gave some grief options. He knows all the people.
Bec 2 days ago
When dad started losing weight and unable to sleep, mom was concerned but knew it would be hard to get him to go to a doctor. Her friend who is a nurse told her to make him an appointment and confront him and tell him you can either go to the appointment or cancel it yourself. Turns out it was a thyroid condition.
#29
Stop eating fast food. It isn't real food and can alter your microbiome permanently if you eat that type of food for too long. It's why 40 year olds are now getting colon cancer at an alarming rate.
Mason Kronol 2 days ago
Why is trump still alive? If I eat a fast food burger I’m sick for a week, since I was 30. I eat so healthy. My husband can grab a hamburger from anywhere.
#30
Yearly checkups with bloodwork along with regular diagnostics at various ages and risk profiles including colonoscopy, ekg, chest x-ray, prostate check, mammogram, etc. There isn't much that can [end] you that pops up out of nowhere. There are usually signs that things are going south years in advance and these risks can be mitigated with early intervention.
Huddo's sister 2 days ago
Getting all of those things done regularly without any symptoms is unlikely to be approved by a doctor, at least where I live. More important is the last sentence, don't ignore symptoms!
#31
Not a doctor: but drink enough water. Skip softdrinks and alcohol whenever you can.
keyboardtek 2 days ago
Having a whole house carbon filter installed to filter out municipal water has made all the difference in the world! The water tastes better, it no longer smells like chlorine. Bathing feels so much better and does not dry out the skin. Clothes come out of the wash with out the mineral content that makes them feel stiff.
#32
Have a schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same times or a close as possible each night. Eat a balanced diet. Low carb if possible. Less is more with food. And try to exercise 45 minutes a day. Even if it is walking a few miles.
Those three things will generally fix most issues.
Apatheist Account2 2 days ago
I tried walking 3 miles a day. By the end of the month, I was 90 miles away.
#33
Cut down on caffeine. Seriously there is a sleep depravation/dysfunction epidemic and the burden on physical and mental health is massive. Caffeine has a 6 hour half life. Yes you may be “sleeping” but normal sleep cycle is still disturbed. Of course exercise, diet, blah blah blah, but for low hanging fruit benefit to effort ratio cutting down on caffeine is probably the easiest thing that would have beneficial impact. Source I’m a pulmonologist, which is the specialty most sleep doctors come from.
#34
In healthcare as an RN,
So many chronic illnesses we encounter are wholly preventable. Also, most issues are further complicated if the patient is already in poor physical shape. Exercise and eating a balanced diet will stave off so many chronic issues as you age.
One thing that stuck with me was once I had a patient, J.D., who was barely 50. J.D. suffered from hypertension and some diabetes. Was also getting treated for ulcers for legs. J.D. was sedentary and overweight among his many many issues. J.D. lived a life of "just doing whatever"
Compare this to my 55+ y/o Brazilian black belt in my BJJ gym. Of course he's nowhere near how he was in his prime, but good God, he rips us apart when he decides to spar with us somewhat seriously. From a young age he basically lived his life like an athlete and he's reaping the benefits as he aged.
Bell-icose 1 day ago
This is sound advice (no matter what the walking persecution complex who commented below seems to think).
#35
Maintain a healthy weight. So many health problems caused by obesity. Plus it makes it harder for us to examine you or do surgery on you.
AtMostAFabulist 1 day ago
Let me snap my fingers and I will drop half my weight just like that. I try to eat as healthy as I can. Avoid too much sugar, and carbs. Drink at least 64 oz of water a day and get as much walking in as I can. Nothing seems to help.
#36
Eat food as your medicine now, so you don't have to eat medicine as your food in the future.
#37
Regularly brush your teeth and floss cut sugar get a night guard/teeth aligned.
What do you think ?
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 2 days ago
It's probably UK specific, but take advantage of any of the free screening programmes available to you,whether it's for cancer or anything else.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 2 days ago
It's probably UK specific, but take advantage of any of the free screening programmes available to you,whether it's for cancer or anything else.
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