When it comes to prioritizing certain areas of health, most people readily understand the importance of key areas like nutrition, exercise, and sleep, but there are several lesser known areas that can have just as significant of an impact on your overall wellbeing if not properly attended to.

Here are three lesser known areas of health that you should be prioritizing more highly in your everyday life.

Behavioral health

Behavioral health is often mistaken to be the same as mental health, but there is an important distinction between the two.

Behavioral health deals with how our behaviors impact our overall health – and that includes both mental and physical aspects. Taking proper care of your mind and your emotions should be prioritized as one important aspect of behavioral health. The healthier we are mentally, the more motivated and capable we are of taking care of our physical wellbeing.

Areas such as anger management, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, stress management, and many others can take a significant toll on our overall health if not attended to. It’s not uncommon for patients experiencing these conditions to think the problem is minor or normal or that it will simply go away on its own with time.

The truth is that these issues can quickly grow worse with time and manifest into extremely difficult conditions to live with. If you feel you may be experiencing behavioral health issues, it’s time to take steps to improve them.

Respiratory care

Another often overlooked area of health is one we use every second of the day – our breathing. Because we are literally always breathing – usually with minimal involuntary effort – we don’t typically consider it a high-priority area of health. Until something goes wrong.

More than 50 million people struggle with occupational lung diseases. Prioritizing your respiratory health on a proactive basis can get ahead of any issues and ensure you keep breathing easily. Conditions like asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and sleep apnea can all become threatening if not treated by a professional.

Refraining from smoking, avoiding exposure to pollutants, and getting your annual flu vaccination are just a few steps you can take to promote good respiratory health. Whether you are currently living with a respiratory condition or you simply want to ensure easy breathing for years to come, a specialist can help you prioritize this key area of overall health.

Integrative and mind body medicine

Integrative medicine has several key benefits to the patient’s mental and physical wellbeing. It reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.

Integrative health treats the whole patient – not just individual diseases – and is particularly suited to hypertension, pain, anxiety, insomnia, and more. It analyzes how the different areas of your life are interacting with one another to see if there are any aspects that can be improved to achieve the greatest benefit. Services like massage therapy, acupuncture, nutrition, and meditation can all contribute to a better lifestyle and picture of health for the patient.

Prioritize a healthier life with Western Wisconsin Health

Western Wisconsin Health offers care in these areas and many others with the goal of improving the quality of life for all patients. Schedule an appointment today to optimize your health in mind, body, and spirit.