New year, old goals, because repeating health resolutions works for sickle cell

The beginning of a new year often feels overwhelming. I tend to ride a wave of excitement after spending time with family and friends, even as I feel a great deal of anxiety about setting health-related goals for the upcoming year.

The media can make me feel as if my goals for each year need to be “better” than those from the previous year. But over the past few years, I’ve found that having similar health goals each year allows me to better manage my sickle beta thalassemia.

This year, I’m revisiting and revising the following goals:

Drink more water

At the start of each year, I review how much water I’ve been drinking over the past few months. This helps me determine what amount I should strive for.

I can always stand to drink a little more water, and doing so creates a fun way for me to one-up myself each year. Gamifying my water intake helps me stay hydrated, which is important since dehydration is often a contributor to my vaso-occlusive crises.

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Maintain a consistent sleep schedule

Every year around Thanksgiving, my sleep schedule completely falls apart. It’s a combination of having time off from school, traveling home for the holiday, returning to complete finals, and then traveling again for Christmas.

By the time January rolls around, I’m more fatigued than I expect to be. Returning to my pre-Thanksgiving sleep schedule and making adjustments for the new semester is a goal I revisit each year. When I’m not getting enough sleep, I put myself at risk for a host of sickle cell symptoms.

Exercise, but not too much

Looking at any of my social media accounts in early January can be daunting and triggering. Friends and influencers alike are posting their new workout routines, diets, and other “health” goals that reinforce the feeling that my goals aren’t good enough.

I try to remind myself that as someone with sickle cell disease and daily chronic pain, a healthy exercise schedule for me may look completely different from that of someone who does not have a chronic disease, and that’s OK.

I like to revisit what types of workouts I enjoyed the most over the previous year and which ones made my body feel its best. Once I’ve done that, I like to set a goal of doing more of those than I did the year before. Setting exercise goals in this manner helps me to continue to push myself, but not to the point of illness.

I’ve found that revisiting my habits from the previous year and revising them to fit who I am now has helped me to remain consistent in managing my disease. After all, New Year’s goals don’t always have to be new to be effective.

Note: Sickle Cell Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Sickle Cell Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to sickle cell disease.