What Can Improve Health Outcomes For 18- To 33-Year-Olds?

 

There doesn't seem to be a lot on the horizon that would make the realities of economic life easier for 18- to 33-year-olds easier in the United States or in most of the rest of the world, but there are at least seven ways young people can manage stress more effectively, whether or not their doctors are available to help them.

1. Get more sleep.

Getting at least 6 or 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night, not just on weekends, is essential for preventing chronic diseases. Young people of African heritage are especialy vulnerable to developing type 2 diabetes after prolonged sleep deprivation.

2. Keep a diary (the old-fashioned way, in a book) or blog.

Expressing your feelings in writings helps you understand and deal with them. The physical act of writing with pen and paper gives you more time to process your feelings, but blogging, choosing appropriate topics for a public audience, also relieves stress.

3. Don't panic about feeling panicked.

Anxiety sometimes is a blessing--if it motivates you to seek help. Even if asking for psychological or financial help results in "learning experiences," you put distance between you and the source of your anxiety by taking constructive action.

4. Be careful whom you sleep with.

Independent of sexual issues, attachment to a sleeping partner leads to better sleep (more delta-wave sleep), and trying to sleep with someone you don't know leads to poor sleep. And in younger adults, sleep is a major determinant of health or disease.

5. Ignore stereotypes, especially when they are applied to you.

The people who find resilience that allows them to persist in the pursuit of their goals develop a healthy "I don't care" attitude about what other people think. It is especially important to ignore comments to the effect of "People like you can't."

6. If you can't afford to take but one supplement, take fish oil.

Studies of medical students have found that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil help lower anxiety and inflammation (aches and pain after physical exertion). Fish oil is cheap, it doesn't have any side effects, you can buy it just about anywhere, and it works. As little as one capsule may actually make a difference in how you feel, 3 to 5 a day is probably optimal.

7. Hang in there 'til next year.

Don't put off medical care if you don't absolutely have to, but look forward to next year. Health insurance rates in 2014 will be drastically lower for many young adults who can't afford health insurance at all now.

The one medical intervention you absolutely should not put off? If you are so stressed out that you are thinking about suicide, call a suicide prevention hotline right now. Things actually may get worse before they get better, but suicide is the self-treatment for disease that can't be undone.