What habits we follow every day have a major impact on our heart health, yet many of us unknowingly follow the habits that could increase the risk of heart failure. From smoking and drinking, which are well-known risks, to many lesser-known habits that can impact our hearts. From staying active to managing stress and avoiding excessive salt intake, recognizing and changing these habits can make a major difference in your heart health.
Fortunately, small changes can play a major role in preventing cardiovascular diseases and help you maintain your overall well-being. Let’s check these daily habits you should consider changing for your heart health:
1. Always Staying in Bed
Not moving enough can be risky for your heart; it is crucial to move your body and elevate your heart rate for a minimum of 150 minutes every week. According to experts, you should go for twice-weekly strength training sessions. You do not need to do it all at once. If you get your heart rate up for 15 minutes, it is enough.
Activity does not always mean a walk or a gym class; it can be shopping, gardening, cleaning, or walking the dog. Just start by involving yourself in some activity every day to get your body moving.
2. Excess Screen Time
One of the major daily habits that can affect your heart health is excess screen time. If you are spending hours on the phone or watching TV, you need to be mindful. Studies have revealed a connection between excessive screen time and an increased risk of coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure. The main reason is these activities promote a sedentary lifestyle and affect movement and circulation, and hence increase the risk for obesity, which harms health badly.
3. Excess Salt Consumption
It is one of the overlooked threats by common people. But experts say that excessive salt is one of the biggest risks for heart damage. Consuming salts in excess daily can boost the blood sodium concentrations that attract fluid in the blood vessels, causing them to swell. It ultimately raises blood pressure in the body and causes the heart to work with force, and it can lead to hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, and heart failure. Moreover, excessive salt intake also hardens arteries in the long term.
4. Consuming Unhealthy Foods
A heart-healthy diet incorporates fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean proteins, and whole grains. This diet is designed to treat or prevent high blood pressure. These food options are low in salt, added sugar, alcohol, and processed foods, and rich in legumes.
It consists mostly of plants, limits meat, and focuses on good fats like walnuts, olive oil, avocados, and almonds.
But people mostly consume processed, sugary, and fried foods. Food full of saturated and trans fat, salt, and cholesterol should be kept only for special occasions instead of on a daily basis. A few other tips include swapping sodas with water, drinking more water, and avoiding sodium.
5. Smoking Tobacco
Tobacco is one of the biggest enemies to your health, whether you vape or smoke cigarettes. Most people know that tobacco ravages your lungs and causes cancer, but very few know that it can also harm your heart.
Even someone who is a long-term smoker can experience instant and long-lasting cardiovascular benefits after avoiding smoking.
6. High-Stress Levels
Stress not only affects your mood but also harms your heart. When stress levels go high, your blood pressure and heart rate also increase, which over time can lead to cardiovascular-related issues.
To deal with this problem, include some relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises in your daily routine to reduce stress.
7. Avoiding Dental Health
Although there is no scientific link between dental hygiene and heart health, some researchers believe there is a connection. Poor oral health leads to poor heart health. Gum disease causes heart disease, and bacterial infections and inflammation affect it too.
Those taking care of their dental health and doing regular cleanings experience a healthy heart.
8. Lack of Sleep
Sleep deprivation is generally not considered, but it is a major risk factor. Poor sleep causes high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, and chronic inflammation. Lack of sleep is also related to diabetes and weight, which badly affect heart health. Focus on having 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep every night to provide yourself with enough rest.
9. Living Alone
Having friends and family is important to lean on. These days, more than one in three older adults report feeling alone. This situation can be terrible for your health, including your heart. A US surgeon generally explains that social isolation is responsible for 29% of the risk of heart disease. The impact of social isolation on high blood pressure in older adults is even greater than that of other major clinical risk factors.
These are some habits you should consider changing for good health. There is a lot you can do to stay away from heart disease and sometimes reverse it. Some simple changes include meditating, taking the stairs, eating homemade foods, getting 15 more minutes of sleep, and more.