Small Life Alterations for a Healthier Heart in 2023
New Years Resolutions – arrrgh! Does anyone really still make these AND stick to them? How about we take a new approach and call them Healthier Heart Alterations in which we make 1-3 small little adjustments to our daily lifestyle to enhance the most important organ in our body – our heart. Here are our favorites:
Drink more water. We’ve heard this advice time and time again but exactly how does this improve your heart? When we are well hydrated, the heart can pump blood through the body more efficiently and reduce strain on our most important muscle. Proper hydration is particularly important for those that have existing heart troubles or who have a higher risk of heart disease. Recommendation: Choose a large beverage vessel and set a goal of drinking and refilling it with water at least 2 times a day. After you’ve achieved that goal, up the number of times you refill it each day.
Move. What does this mean for you? It could mean going for a walk once a day or hitting the gym 3 times a week; whatever works for you but make a conscience effort to move every day. Recommendation: Doing any exercise activity with family or friends makes the time more enjoyable and provides accountability in making it happen.
Identify sources of Anxiety. Anxiety can trigger the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, which can increase heart rate and blood pressure. Consciously identify your anxiety triggers and find ways to reduce them. Recommendation: Methods our friends and family utilize include: exercise (see how this comes up again and again!), listening to music or an ebook, conversing with family and friends, disconnecting from devices (taking a break from email, social media), even taking a break from the news if that is a trigger, or journaling to release your thoughts.
Eat Healthier. This could be a small as swapping out sugary drinks for water, reducing the frequency of eating out, eating a salad as your main course once a week or putting down the salt shaker and switching to reduced salt options of grocery products. It could also be as big as adding a fruit or vegetable to every meal and snack, switching to only lean proteins or eliminating meat from your diet entirely. Just keep in mind any healthy change to your eating habits is a step in the right direction. Recommendation: Choose one health dietary change for 2 weeks and progress in adding another every 2 weeks.
Get more sleep. Not getting enough sleep can lead to overeating, fatigue, heart failure, hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Additionally, less sleep on a consistent basis can increase blood pressure and cause inflammation. All these things have negative impacts on your heart health. Suggestions to improve the ability to fall and stay asleep include: Putting devices away long before bedtime, reduce caffeine intake especially later in the day, daily exercise and sleeping in a cool, dark room.
If there is one thing to keep in mind as you set your own Healthier Heart Alterations it is to look for progress, and not perfection and chances are you’ll be a path to a heathier you.