You know that eating a healthy diet and regular exercising are important habits for maintaining a healthy heart. But did you know that some surprisingly common unhealthy habits could undermine all of your efforts?
Stay tuned with us to know more!
7 Lifestyle Habits that Put You at the Risk of Stroke
Work at a desk job for long hours? Don't remember to floss at night? A variety of activities that most people do without thinking can harm their heart health. Check out this list of heart-harming habits to see if it's time to make some changes in your life:
Excess Smoking
In addition to harming your heart and respiratory system, smoking increases your stroke risk. According to specialists at John Hopkins Medicine, smoking almost doubles the chance of having an ischemic stroke.
Abuse of Alcohol
Health experts are against of excessive drinking since it increases the risk of stroke. More than two drinks each day are known to increase blood pressure. According to the National Health Services (NHS), excessive drinking is defined as consuming large amounts of alcohol quickly or doing so in an effort to become intoxicated. For women, binge drinking is defined as six units of alcohol, compared to eight units for men.
Unhealthy Diet
You can minimise your risk of stroke by selecting nutritious meals and snacks. Ensure that you consume a lot of fresh produce and fruits.
Consuming meals high in fibre and low in cholesterol, trans fats, and saturated fats can help avoid high cholesterol. Reduced sodium (salt) intake can help lower blood pressure. Your likelihood of experiencing a stroke is increased by having excessive cholesterol and blood pressure.
Lazy Living
The younger generation now frequently engages in sedentary activities during downtime and is not fit and active. An unhealthy lifestyle habit boosts body fat, weakens muscles, impairs bone density, slows metabolism, and weakens the body's immune system as a whole. Thus, leading a sedentary lifestyle raises your risk of developing health problems.
Start slowly with activities that include walking (30–60 minutes) or light exercises, depending on your current health and age circumstances if you've been indolent.
Mental Stress
In response to stress, the body releases adrenaline, which temporarily alters how your body reacts. Your heart rate and blood pressure may go up. Over time, excessive stress can harm the heart's blood vessels to raise your risk of heart attack and stroke.
The AHA advises the following to lessen the negative consequences of stress:
- Seek a release of emotions: Talking with a family member or trusted friend will help you express your feelings.
- Exercise can help you relax your mind and body: On most days of the week, aim for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.
- Create a day-to-day plan: Prioritize your work and make a plan before you start to avoid rushing through everything.
Using too much Salt
According to Campbell, too much sodium can raise blood pressure, which increases the chance of developing heart disease. The saltshaker is easy to avoid, but what about sodium that isn't readily apparent? The majority of the salt is found in processed foods, such as lunch meats, frozen meals, chips, and other salty snacks, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Choose the product with the lower % daily value for sodium by carefully reading nutrition labels and comparing available options. The AHA suggests that most people take fewer than 1,500 mg of sodium daily as a general guideline.
Getting Insufficient Sleep
Your cardiovascular system doesn't get the rest it requires if you don't get enough sleep since your heart works hard all day. The non-REM phase of sleep is when your pulse rate and blood pressure are at their lowest. The second phase of sleep is when they rise and fall in reaction to your dreams (REM sleep). According to the NHLBI, these variations throughout the night appear to support cardiovascular health.
According to Campbell, chronic sleep deprivation can also result in high resting cortisol and adrenaline levels, equivalent to the levels you would feel in a stressful environment. According to his advice, adults should sleep for 7 to 8 hours every night. He advises teens and young people to aim for 9 to 10 hours of sleep.
>>Also Read: 7 Things to Avoid to Keep Your Heart Healthy
Make Heart-healthy Changes that Last
A change in lifestyle is a time-taking process. According to research, a practised activity takes approximately 66 days to become a habit. To ensure that your heart-healthy habits persist, exercise patience and adhere to the following guidelines:
- Make a list of the modifications you want to make. Writing out your goals gives them a concrete form and gives you a roadmap to follow. Just be sure to be as specific and realistic as you can.
- Divide your objectives into reachable benchmarks. Try not to implement every modification at once. When people try to alter too much too quickly, they typically encounter problems and fail. Ensure that each achievement seems doable.
- Add new upgrades slowly but surely. Add another goal once a change begins to feel natural. Once you've finished your list, keep doing this.
Don't give up if you face a setback. Keep in mind that you'll be moving toward your ultimate objective of maintaining a healthful heart as your modifications become routines. Apart from keeping your heart healthy, you should also take care of your savings. Well, nothing can be more appropriate than planning your financial portfolio with a comprehensive health insurance plan to cover a medical emergency like a stroke.
Disclaimer - The above information is for reference purposes only: Policy Assurance and Claims at the underwriter's discretion.
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