There’s nothing like the sense of relief that comes from a trouble-free annual checkup. But experts say that it’s important to give your body a quick DIY diagnostic between checkups to ensure that your body is functioning optimally.

“Even if you see your doctor every year for a checkup, we believe that an annual exam is not nearly enough to stay healthy and prevent serious disease,” Dr. Max Lebow, an emergency physician from Los Angeles who also serves on the board of the directors of Urgent Care Association of America, tells Newsmax Health.

“Maintaining good health and wellness requires continuous self-examination for potentially life-threatening disease processes that, if found early, can save your life. For example, 40 percent of all breast cancers are found by self-examination before they are picked up by a mammogram or by a physician’s exam.

“The American Cancer Society and a number of other professional organizations advocate that we should all be doing self-examination of our own bodies and functions on a regular basis.”

Here are some examples:

Skin check. Examine your skin by running your eyes and fingers over the surface to detect any new growths or irregularities. You want to feel an even surface and no changes in your skin’s appearance. Pay particular attention to your face, ears, scalp neck, and back.

Ask your spouse or partner to help you check the backside of your body or use a mirror. If the skin appears rough in a small patch, you may have actinic keratosis which needs to examined because it can turn into skin cancer. Likewise, any shiny pink or brown bump with a raised border that suddenly appears could signal basal cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancer.

A growth with uneven borders or color or that is larger than a pencil eraser needs to be looked at by a dermatologist.

Eye check. You want to look yourself in the eye and see firm eyelids, even lashes, and no swelling or redness. If the lower lid appears to be drooping, it can lead to corneal damage and should be treated.

Any irregularities, such as a bump that suddenly appears, should be checked out. Missing lashes could be a sign of a thyroid condition or an allergic reaction.

Balance check. The importance of having good balance cannot be overestimated. It’s the key to all functional movement: it helps your postural equilibrium, musculature, joint dynamics and neuromuscular stability.

Unfortunately we tend to lose our ability to balance as we age and this can lead to potentially dangerous falls. Stand on a flat, nonslip surface with your arms folded across your chest. Now raise one leg a few inches off the floor.

Try to hold your balance for 30 seconds and repeat with the other leg. Repeat the test again with your eyes closed. Scientists say that people who can hold their balance on one leg with their eyes closed have lower rates of mortality than those who cannot. If you have a difficult time performing this task, consult with your doctor about improving your overall health and fitness.

Physical therapists can give your balance exercises to practice.

Heart check. Place two fingers on the side of your windpipe. Count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by four to get the beats per minutes or bpm. A healthy range is between 60 to 100 beats per minute.

If your heart rate is soaring over 100 beats per minute, consult with your doctor. A rapid heart rate, or tachycardia, may be caused by a number of issues including stress, alcohol abuse, or cardiac issues.

Hair check. Most people start to lose their hair in their 50s, which is normal, and usually due to genetics and hormonal changes rather than poor nutrition or some other factor.

Sometimes certain medications or sudden weight loss can trigger hair loss or hair thinning in individuals. But if you start to see dramatic hair loss in the shower drain or on your hair brush, this may be caused by an underlying condition such as anemia.

“There’s perhaps no better investment in preventative health maintenance than the few minutes it takes to perform self-examinations,” says Lebow. “The payoff could be many more years of good health and it could save your life.”