Introduction. Nurses belong to a social group that is characterized by a high degree knowledge of health and diseases. They should present the readiness to actively act for the improvement of health in the society. The demonstration of health, the creation of habits, the realization of health beliefs are very effective ways to influence other people. Aim. The aim of the study was to collect opinions of nurses in their 40s on the health and their present health behaviour. Material and methods. The materials consisted of 65 nurses in their 40s. The results were collected using the author’s own diagnostic survey and questionnaires used in psychological research: The Health Behaviour Inventory, The List of Criteria and The List of Values. Results and conclusions. The observation of nurses’ life allows to conclude that they do not follow principles which have impact on their health. The analysis of collected material proved a lower overall indicator of health behaviours for individual categories in comparison to the control group. The way women define health is important for health promoting activities and the evaluation of health influences health behaviours. In addition to the knowledge of health, nurses should present an appropriate attitude to health behaviour actions.

Key words: nurses, perception of health, health behaviour.