Men’s Health Month is used to encourage men and boys to seek out regular health screenings. Though Men’s Health Month is throughout all of June, Men’s Health Week is celebrated during the second week of June. According to Eric Moreno from Salud America, Men’s Health Week is a special awareness period conceived by Congress and passed on March 25, 1994. It’s commemorated by “Wear Blue Day,” which is held on the Friday of Men’s Health Week. This day calls people of all genders to wear blue to show support for the health and wellness of males everywhere. This year marks the 24th annual Men’s Health Month, and here’s how you can celebrate.

1. Get Tested
Youth may make people feel invincible, but the older a person gets, the more they realize their body isn’t as durable as they thought. According to Dr. Benjamin Wedro from MedicineNet, the top five diseases that kill men are heart disease, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Though these diseases require different treatments, early detection only involves one thing: a physical exam. Physical exams help determine the general status of someone’s health. It also gives people a chance to talk about any ongoing or reoccurring pains. This helps your doctor to figure out what the issue may be in order to give you the appropriate tests. It’s important to take a physical exam at least once annually. It may just save your life.

2. Exercise. Exercise. Exercise
It will hurt, but it won’t kill you. Exercise is important for the body, and if you start early, it won’t be a struggle later in life.

Exercising has many benefits such as boosting your immune system. Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker reported that exercising also helps to de-stress. This happens through the body releasing its natural stress fighters, endorphins.

Gordon also reported that exercise can energize you at the start of your day. It won’t happen immediately though. At first, exercise will tire you out, but the more you do it, the more you will feel it’s energizing after-effects.

So for males everywhere, start exercising now. Even if it hurts or you don’t feel like it, just do it. It will help you in the long run.

3. Protect Your Mental Health
Men’s Health Month is not just about physical health but also about mental health. Since your mind and body are connected, the state of your mental health can also affect your body’s health.

Stress is one of the biggest factors to affect mental health. Healthline reported that stress ages your body faster through the shortening of telomeres. Telomeres are the structures at the ends of chromosomes. This leads to wrinkles, poor eyesight, and even weak muscles. Stress also weakens your immune system and causes you to gain weight through overeating.

As a negatively added bonus, stress also puts a strain on the heart as it causes an increase in heart rate, constriction of blood vessels, and an increase in blood pressure. To combat this, take a chill pill and relax. Do something you love, talk to someone you love about your feelings, or take a vacation. Always remember this: Just because you’re stuck in a rut now doesn’t mean you’re meant to stay there.

Written by: Bryce Ethridge