Far too many of us think about what we look like on the outside without taking too much consideration into how healthy we are on the inside. Just because you may not be, let’s say overweight, doesn’t mean that there aren’t any changes that you could be doing to make yourself as healthy as can be, especially when we are talking about heart health.
Improving your heart health is not as hard as it sounds, if you start by making small changes in your daily life. Here are just a few simple steps to get your heart in tip top shape.
BMI Check
Now it goes without saying that if you are overweight, losing excess pounds is one way to take the strain off your heart. By making steps to getting your BMI down into a healthy range for your height and age will not only contribute to your heart health, but it will take pressure off your joints, reduce the risks of high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, to mention but a few. To find out what your ideal BMI range is, check out the calculator here.
Get the Right Amount of Sleep
These days, getting the recommended amount of sleep can seem like a bit of a hard task, there simply doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Most of us are surviving on less and less sleep without really knowing the consequences that come with that. I bet you would never have thought that a lack of sleep can have a negative impact on your heart health. Studies have shown that having between six and nine hours of sleep can contribute to a healthy heart just as much as not smoking or having a healthy, well balanced diet.
Eat Well and Exercise
When you hear about eating right and taking regular exercise, it’s not always regarding weight control. By eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruit, veg and oily fish and decreasing the amount of sugar, saturated fat and salt you have, you will be helping to keep your heart in the best possible shape. We already spoke about the importance of watching your diet when it comes to your heart health in the post The way to (protect) a man’s heart is through his stomach.
When it comes to exercising daily, this doesn’t mean joining a gym and hitting it hard. Simple changes can make a huge difference, such as taking the stairs instead of the lift or walking an extra ten minutes a day… Anything really that can get your heart rate going!
Get a Check Up
It’s always great practice to make any changes that can improve your health at any time. However, if you’re concerned about an underlying heart issue, you should seek the advice of a professional, like a consultant cardiologist at the OneWelbeck. They will be able to carry out an assessment to put your mind at ease and give you their recommendations.
Most of these steps are pretty much common sense, but easy to overlook, especially due to our hectic lifestyles. But if we try to slow down, put the steps into practice and look after ourselves, our heart’s will thank us for it in the long run.
Want to know some more about how to improve your heart health? Read more about in our posts How To Keep Your Heart Younger and 5 Simple But Awesome Ways To Get Your Heart Pumping.
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