The month of February isn’t all about chocolate, flowers, and love. But it has a lot to do with hearts… Although Valentines Day is right around the corner, February is also known as “Heart Month”. Check out this site to read about Heart Month.
So while we won’t really give you tips on how to improve your relationship or sex life, we can give you tips on how to avoid a “broken” heart this month.
Read on to learn some tips for a healthy heart.
Get enough shut-eye. Seriously. One of the best things you can do for your heart is to get some rest.
Allowing your body to cool down, relax, reduce tension and stress, and get an adequate amount of rest will not only reduce the pressure you put on your body, and your heart, it will also lower blood pressure, keeping your arteries happy and healthy.
Forget the fats. You don’t want plaque build-up on your teeth, right? Well, the same rule goes for your heart. A significant amount of saturated fats can build up and form a “plaque”, and can clog the heart and arteries.
Saturated fat is found in red meat, some dairy products, and other processed foods. In order to check on your heart health, be sure to have a cholesterol test done when you visit your doctor for your yearly physical. You can do this once a year or once every five years if you have a good cholesterol track record.
Sweat it out. We’ve all been told to exercise more. There are numerous benefits to exercising, with heart health being one of them. Getting a “moderate” amount of exercise at least five days per week for approximately thirty minutes will do wonders for your heart—not to mention make you feel (and look) great!
Your heart is worth it, so get up, move, and sweat!
Fresh is always better. Eating fresh fruits and veggies each day will reduce the amount of processed foods you eat, which will boost heart health. Fresh fruits and veggies are packed with vitamins and minerals that are vital to our hearts as well as overall health and wellbeing.
Incorporate more fresh fruits and produce in order to avoid sugars, saturated fats, and other chemicals and additives that do more harm than good.
Quit smoking. Believe it or not, smoking is still a somewhat popular—and dangerous—habit among adults. Not to mention, it’s one of the worst things you can do to your body.
While getting your nicotine fix might be enjoyable, your heart and your lungs strongly disagree. So do your heart a favor by ditching the cigarettes, and the secondhand smoke.
Stop the pressure. If you are prone to stress, then you might want to consider a stress-reducing hobby, such as crafts, yoga or exercise, getting a massage, or even picking up a sport.
You might also want to borrow the ear of a family member or friend to talk about what is stressing you. Releasing emotions in a healthy way is the best way to combat stress.
We all put up with stress at one point or another in our lives, or we might have stressful jobs, but we also need to take the time to de-stress as it could do some long-term damage to our hearts.
Read more tips about heart health here.
Emotional pain, which we often refer to as a “broken heart” is no fun, and it certainly doesn’t feel good, but having a physically healthy heart is better one that is literally broken.
Taking these simple steps and making these simple changes to your diet, exercise routine, and even learning how to best reduce stress can add years to the life of your heart.
Remember, you might stop and rest, but your heart doesn’t. So take care of it. It’s the only one you’ve got!
Visit here to read more about how to THRIVE and ways to promote healthy living.