5 powerful health numbers to start tracking today

Some of your risk for disease is outside your control. But a good amount lies within your hands. For example, between 30 and 50 percent of cancer cases may be prevented by changing lifestyle habits and environmental factors over which you have some influence, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

To better manage disease risk and other aspects of your well-being, it may help to start keeping track of your personal health numbers and trends. “When people log what they're eating, they eat better. When they track their movement, they tend to move more,” says Keith Roach, MD, associate professor in clinical medicine in the division of general medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Try using a wearable activity tracker, a simple pedometer, or an online health tracker to take steps today toward better health. You can also track multiple dimensions of your health—including sleep, stress, alcohol consumption, diet, and exercise—using Sharecare (available for iOS and Android). Get started today.

The quantity and quality of sleep you get each night can affect your mental health. Inadequate or poor sleep may lead to feeling irritable, stressed out, anxious, or depressed. But getting enough good sleep can boost your focus and outlook. 

To check how long and how well you sleep, try a wearable sleep tracker. These devices can gather useful information, including estimates of how long you’re asleep and whether your sleep is interrupted or restless. They may also be able to detect the phases of your sleep—whether it’s a light phase or deeper, more restful phase.

Once you start to see patterns, you can learn how sleep plays a role in your mental well-being—and take steps to manage it.

Many of us change our eating habits when we feel stressed. Some people overeat or reach for overly processed foods, while others cut back or even skip meals. Tracking your stress levels may help you figure out what triggers these eating patterns. 

To become more aware of your triggers, try keeping a journal. Record when you feel the most stress, what sets it off, and what you do in response to it. Wearable devices that monitor your heart rate and your heart rate variability may also give you some limited information about what triggers your stress.

Excessive use of alcohol accounts for about 178,000 deaths each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About one-third of those deaths are due to alcohol-related vehicle crashes, while the other two thirds are related to health conditions caused by too much drinking over time. These include cancer, liver disease, and heart disease.

Tracking your alcohol intake can make you aware of how much you truly drink in a day, a week, and in the long run. If you find you’re drinking too much, you can take steps to cut back. Remember, moderate alcohol consumption is considered to be no more than one drink per day for women or two per day for men.

More than 1 in 10 U.S. adults have diabetes, and many don’t realize they’ve developed the disease. The vast majority have type 2 diabetes, which has a number of modifiable risk factors. These include being overweight or obese and not getting enough movement. The good news: With diet and exercise, you may be able to drop weight, become more active, and manage and even reverse type 2 diabetes.

Tracking your eating patterns and activity levels can in several different ways. It can:

• Make you more aware of your current diet and exercise habits
• Show you your progress and motivate you to make additional changes 
• Give your healthcare provider information so they can tailor a treatment plan more for your needs

Speak with a provider about how tracking can help you.