Most people ignore their body’s ‘check engine’ light

Three in four Americans wish they had a “check engine” light for their health, according to a new survey.

A poll of 2,000 general population Americans found many feel life would be easier if they had some kind of indicator for when their body needs attention.

Three in five (63%) said they struggle to recognize when their body is trying to tell them to pay attention to their health.

If a “check engine” light for health were to exist, respondents said they would mostly use it to notify when it’s time to drink a glass of water (57%), take vitamins (50%) or take a nap (45%).

Conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by vitafusion Adult Gummy Vitamin Brand, the study asked respondents to gauge how they felt at the time of taking the poll.

At the time of the survey being run, 32% said they checked in with themselves that day — meaning they took a moment to examine their physical, mental and emotional health.

More generally, 55% had checked in with themselves within the past two days. Six percent said they have never checked in with themselves before.

The survey also asked respondents if they were setting goals for 2023 and six in 10 stated they have a New Year’s goal in mind — 71% believe they will stick with it until the end. It’s no surprise, however, that the top resolutions for the year were to exercise more (22%), spend more time with loved ones (18%) and focus on their career (10%).

“People often underestimate the power of taking a moment to examine their own health, said Bruce Tetreault, Senior Director of Marketing at vitafusion. “After all, who wouldn’t want a magical warning light to appear when something needs attention? While that might not exist in reality, we can all take a break from our day to ask ourselves some critical questions about our daily health and how to better our overall well-being.”

The survey also asked respondents to examine different components of their daily health and how it relates to their daily routines.

Two in three have some kind of daily routine, but 26% feel like they forget a step in their routine at least a few times per week. A quarter of them (24%) forget something every day.

Forgetting just one step in their routine is enough to ruin the rest of the day for 61% of respondents.

On a daily basis, 32% examine how much water they’ve consumed, 28% examine their daily diet and 28% check how much sleep they got the night before.

Two out of five respondents said they also feel tired between 4 and 6 hours out of the day and 47% haven’t had a meal mainly consisting of fruits or vegetables in three or more days.

One in four did claim to be on top of their daily vitamins, minerals and supplements, however. Especially when they are used for general wellness (55%), immune support (51%), sleep (42%) and digestion (41%).

Older generations were found to have taken their daily vitamins more than most — 43% of baby boomers and 31% of Gen-X said they took their vitamins the same day of the survey polling. While only 16% of millennials reported to have taken their vitamins the same day of the survey polling, over half (59%) said they would especially appreciate the reminder to take vitamins over anything else.

“Keeping up on your daily routine and examining your daily habits are important aspects of managing your overall health,” states Tetreault. “In 2023, we can all do a better job of making our health and wellness a top priority.”

Top 10 things Americans do on their breaks

-Drink water – 49%

-Eat – 47%

-Watch TV – 42%

-Nap – 41%

-Stretch – 39%

-Meditate – 38%

-Take vitamins – 35%

-Journal – 34%

-Play games – 29%

-Check my social media accounts – 21%