Health Topic

Healthy Living

Healthy living means taking care of your body and mind by making choices that support your overall wellbeing. Over time, small steps can add up to big health benefits.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Healthy Living

Healthy living means taking care of your body and mind by making choices that support your overall wellbeing. Many things affect your health. Some you can't control, like your genetic makeup or your age. But there are many daily habits you can change to help you feel your best.

Creating new healthy habits takes time, but small, steady changes are easier to maintain and can become part of your everyday routine.

Healthy living can help you feel better, boost your energy, and lower your risk for serious health problems such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

You don't have to change everything at once. Start with a few steps to build a foundation for a healthier lifestyle. These can include:

  • Get the screening tests recommended for you, including those specific to women's health and men's health
  • Stay up to date on vaccines to protect yourself from disease
  • Maintain a healthy weight that's right for you
  • Eat a variety of healthy foods, and limit calories, added sugar, and saturated fat
  • Be physically active, even small amounts of exercise can be helpful
  • Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in a healthy range
  • Don't smoke, or take steps to quit if you do
  • Protect your skin from too much sun
  • Limit alcohol, or choose not to drink at all
  • Get enough sleep each night to help your body and mind recharge
  • Manage stress and work on improving your mental health, such as by practicing meditation, relaxation techniques, or gratitude
  • Protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
  • Visit your health care provider regularly for checkups
  • See your dentist and eye care specialist for routine care
  • Stay connected with friends, family, or community groups, and do activities you enjoy

Healthy living is a lifelong journey. Over time, small steps can add up to big health benefits.

It sits within Wellness and Lifestyle.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Healthy Living

231 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Related Issues

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Healthy Lifestyle. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Healthy Living, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.