6 Habits for a Healthy Heart

Healthy lifestyle choices can become a habit, and that’s really the goal. It’s so much easier to practice healthy living when it’s part of your daily routine. And when it comes to your heart, you want it to be as healthy and functional as possible for a long time.

Here are 6 habits for a healthy heart.

1. Veggies and Fruit First
Here’s a good habit to get into. At meals, eat your salad and any vegetable and fruit sides first. Not only are these fruits and vegetables good for you; they will fill you up and leave less room for the other foods that are less heart-healthy. Make sure each meal has a portion or two of fruits and veggies.

2. Sneak in the Vegetables
Since you’re making it a habit to eat fruits and vegetables at every meal, you might find yourself getting creative with this. For example, you can sautee some mixed veggies in a skillet before adding a beaten egg to make a veggie scramble. Top with salsa and serve with a side of fresh fruit.

Snack on fruits and vegetables, too, throughout the day. Keep frozen vegetables on hand and add them to any foods you can.

3. Exercise
Studies have shown that sitting down for long periods can actually cause heart disease and even cut your lifespan short. Make exercise a habit – study up on chair exercises and moves you can do in a small room if space is an issue. Make it a habit to exercise while your coffee brews, throughout the work day, or while the kids are in bed. If excerise becomes a habit, then you’ll be engaging in it throughout the day and the heart-healthy benefits will add up.

4. Reduce Stress
Over and over it’s been demonstrated that stress reduction helps your heart. Prayer, meditation, stretching, deep breathing, drawing – whatever helps you calm down and decompress, engage in that as often as you can throughout the day. In addition, you might need to practice positive self-speak and learn to let past hurts go. It just isn’t worth your heart health to get down on yourself, or to stay mad and upset.

5. Get Plenty of Sleep
Sleep deprivation is hard on your heart. It needs a rest, too. Make sure you get 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep each night, experts say.

6. Eat Healthy Fats
Heart-healthy fats found in fatty fish such as salmon, cod, and sardines have been shown to promote cardiovascular health. Other healthy fats include olive oil, natural coconut oil, flax seed oil, and nuts and seeds.

The good news is that you can develop healthy habits for your heart without having to do a major overhaul.