Resetting your health routine in autumn: 5 small steps

When the days get shorter and the air turns cooler, the routine you settled into over the summer gets a little shaken: back to work and school, evenings that get dark early, flu season just around the corner. In this post, we share 5 steps to get your health routine back on track in autumn with small adjustments instead of starting from scratch.

Why is autumn a good time for a fresh start?

In summer, holidays, trips and long days stretch our routines. Medication times drift, postponed checkups pile up, evenings change. Autumn is a natural turning point in the calendar: a new season begins and the pace of the days becomes clearer again.

Several things change at the same time in this period:

• There is less daylight, and evenings get dark earlier.
• In some countries the clocks go back and the rhythm of the day shifts by an hour.
• Respiratory infections such as flu and colds start to become more common.
• Work, school and family schedules get busier.

You don't have to catch up with all of these changes in one weekend. Small adjustments usually last longer than big decisions. You can work through the five steps below in order, or in whatever order suits you best.

1. Review your medication plan and times

Over the summer, your medication times may have drifted with your holiday routine. Late mornings, trips or evenings with guests are the most common reasons. In the first weeks of autumn, take one fresh look at your plan: which medication do you take at what time, how many days' supply do you have left, will you need a new prescription?

If it looks like you need to change your times, don't do it on your own; talk it through with your doctor or pharmacist. Your part is to make the plan clear; decisions about medication are made together with them. If you live in a country where the clocks go forward or back, the steps in keeping your medication times through the clock change may help in this period.

If a pack is running low, note the refill date now. With a busier calendar, leaving the pharmacy trip to the last day is one of the small slips that cause the most trouble.

2. Note what to ask your doctor about flu season

According to the World Health Organization, seasonal flu in temperate climates spreads mostly during the winter months, and vaccination stands out as one of the main ways to protect yourself. Who the vaccine is recommended for, and when, varies from country to country and with each person's health. In England, for example, the NHS offers the flu vaccine to certain groups in autumn.

You don't need to make a decision at this step; preparing a list of questions is enough. You could note these down to ask your GP or pharmacist:

• Is the flu vaccine right for me, and when should I get it?
• Is there anything I should know because of the medications I take or a long-term condition?
• What should I keep in mind if I'm pregnant or breastfeeding?
• Where can I get the vaccine, and do I need an appointment?

Everyday habits such as washing your hands often, covering your mouth when you cough and resting when you're ill also matter more in this period. If your fever rises or your symptoms don't go away, talk to your doctor; if you have a serious symptom such as shortness of breath, call the emergency helpline without waiting.

3. Fit in your checkup dates before the year ends

Autumn is a good moment to look at the rest of the year. Write down the dental, eye or routine checkups you put off over the summer. Then add a "when I'll call" date next to each one. Even if you can't book the appointment right away, knowing the day you plan to call keeps it from being forgotten.

Your doctor decides how often you need each checkup. Still, seeing them all in one calendar makes it easier to notice what's missing in the year-end rush. You can use the list in our annual health checkup schedule post as a starting point.

4. Note your energy and sleep as the days get shorter

Less daylight can affect energy, sleep and mood in some people. Getting up in the morning may feel harder, and you may get tired earlier in the evening. The simplest way to notice this is to jot down a short note every day for a few weeks.

Your note doesn't have to be long. A one-minute entry a day is enough:

• How was my energy today?
• How did I sleep last night?
• How much time did I spend outdoors during the day?

After a few weeks, these notes show you your own pattern; and when you talk to your doctor, you can describe a concrete picture instead of saying "I've been tired lately". If you've felt noticeably low for a long time, if daily tasks are getting harder, or if this comes back in the same season every year, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, call the emergency helpline in your country without waiting. We explain how to keep these notes in more detail in tracking mood and energy as the days get shorter.

5. Match your reminders to your new pace

The reminders you set up in summer may not fit the pace of autumn. If the school bus time, your commute or dinner time has changed, your reminders should be adjusted to this new routine too. Otherwise, notifications either arrive at the wrong moment or get dismissed out of habit.

Ask yourself: Does this reminder still arrive at the right time? Does it really help me, or do I just swipe it away automatically now? Are there two reminders doing the same job? Turning off the ones you don't need makes the important ones easier to notice.

How to keep your autumn routine in Oveluni

Oveluni helps you bring these steps together in a single calendar. You can keep your medication plans and times in Medications and update your medication reminders to your new pace. You can add doctor visits with Quick add > Add appointment and set an appointment reminder; no reminder records an appointment as completed.

You can log your energy and mood with Daily check-in, and add sleep observations as A note. After a few weeks, the period comparison in Insights lets you see two equal periods side by side. Oveluni doesn't diagnose; it only reflects the records you keep. Your records are stored on this iPhone. You can find the other features on the Features page, and what to look for when choosing an app in 6 things to check when choosing a health app. Oveluni is coming soon to the App Store.

Sources

1. World Health Organization: Influenza (seasonal)
2. NHS: Flu vaccine