Your heart does a lot of work to keep you active throughout the day, therefore, you should make it a priority to keep your heart healthy and strong. There are many ways to maintain heart health. These methods include some changes in your lifestyle as well as your diet. A healthy diet not only keeps your heart healthy but also helps your other vital organs to function properly.
So, now we understand how you can improve your heart health.
1. Maintain 7 hours of sleep
You all must have heard the famous saying - rest is best for health '. A better sleep keeps the arteries healthy. Good sleep not only protects your mental and physical health, but also enhances the quality of your life. Research has shown that people who do not sleep for 7 hours have a higher risk of heart disease regardless of age and weight. Deep periods of rest, therefore, normalize blood pressure and heart rate. However, an excessive sleep can also affect your metabolism. Therefore, for most of the adults, the ideal amount of sleep at night is between seven to nine hours.
2. Manage your cholesterol level
Image courtesy: Medical News Today
Cholesterol builds new cells and helps in developing immunity in the human body. Usually, cholesterol is made up by the liver, but the consumption of some foods also helps in adding cholesterol in your body. However, too much consumption of cholesterol-based food is also not good for health. An excess cholesterol level can lead to a risk factor associated with the heart.
Too much of cholesterol in your blood builds up the walls in and an around your arteries creating a blockage in its proper functioning, which may lead to several heart disease.
3. Keep a look at your blood pressure
A regular check up of blood pressure is vital. A high blood pressure can damage the artery walls, which can lead to a difficulty for heart to pump. It will gives extra pressure to heart to pump oxygen in and out. Therefore, get yourself regularly checked in every 6-12 months if you're above the age of 40, else in every year.
To maintain a normal blood pressure, minimize the consumption of salt, limit your alcohol consumption and prefer consuming healthy diet. Also manage your stress and be physically active and do exercise regularly.
4. Do Yoga / Exercise regularly
Yoga improves flexibility and muscle strength. It also enhances balance and regulates your blood pressure, which results in lowering the risk of any heart related disease. Furthermore, it also helps in maintaining the healthy weight keeping you stronger and fit. And the best part of doing yoga is - it is a healthy way to manage stress and fatigue.
Exercise, on the other hand, helps you burn extra fat and calorie by sweating. It increases the power of stamina. The daily you exercise, the more and energetic you stay. Hence, be it for only 30 minutes, but do exercise/yoga regularly to keep your heart health in a good condition.
5. Reduce Fat consumption
I would never suggest you to completely prohibit yourself from fats because not all fats are bad for health. There are some good fats too. And they are monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. When these unsaturated fats are consumed at a moderate level, they help to control the cholesterol level. Whereas, the saturated fats stimulate the build-up of LDL ('or bad') cholesterol level which in turn starts blocking the arteries. These unhealthy fats are often found in meat and full-fat dairy products.
Therefore, choose your food wisely in order to make a heart-healthy diet. And it is often been said that good nutrition helps you to lead a healthy lifestyle.
Lastly, celebrate and enjoy every bit of your life. Life is a precious gift and it should be cherished in the best possible manner. Do not make your life challenged or dependent on others, as it will only give you the unwanted stress and depression. Instead, ask for support and help from others if you are really looking forward to bring a good change in your life. Afterall, your heart health is your health.
Take Care!