World Heart Day, a day the world focuses on the importance of cardiovascular health. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the United States. Several risk factors can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure, an unhealthy diet, not being physically active, and a lack of coping mechanisms for handling mental stress. The good news is that you can make many of these risk factors TAPOUT by making the right choices.
Feeling stressed out from time to time is inevitable if you're human. However, keeping stress levels to a minimum is crucial for your mental well-being and cardiovascular health. Chronic stress can have a severe impact on the body and heart, like causing electrical instability and spasms of the blood vessels in the heart, increased oxygen demands in the body, and increased blood pressure. So, how do you minimize stress? If you are reading our blogs, chances are you are already engaging in weekly fitness training that includes aerobic exercise and resistance training. But did you know that regular physical exercise is excellent at reducing stress levels? In clinical trials of endurance athletes, aerobic exercise has even been found to treat clinical depression and anxiety disorders.
It is recommended that you engage in both resistance exercise and aerobic exercise every week. Both types of exercise have been shown to reduce stress hormones in the body and stimulate the production of endorphins that help elevate mood and reduce mental stress. Whatever your favorite workout methods, exercise is also a perfect way to take your mind off your daily worries. Anyone who has ever gone on a beautiful hike knows it can do wonders for taking your mind off of things!
Breathing exercises can also help a lot with stress levels. When stressed out, your breathing tends to be shallow, rapid, and erratic. Continuing on a path of breathing like this, coupled with negative thoughts that seem to accompany being in a state of stress, can be like a vicious cycle that leaves you more and more stressed. Therefore, when you are feeling stressed, it is essential to take a break, even if only five minutes, to focus on slowing your breathing while taking deeper and fuller breaths. While taking this break, it also helps to think about any positive aspects about the stressful situation you are facing and think about the path through the situation.
Another thing that you have a tremendous amount of control over when it comes to your cardiovascular health is your diet. Strive for a healthy lifestyle that includes a nutritious, easily sustainable diet. When we say “sustainable,” we mean a diet free from complicated rules, offers an enjoyable variety of healthy food, and can easily be followed most days. When it comes to your diet, you shouldn’t strive for perfection, but most of the food you eat should have a healthy and functional benefit. Always keep your home stocked with foods that help you maintain a healthy weight and keep your blood pressure in check. Choose fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fiber sources instead of foods that negatively impact cardiovascular health, like deep-fried foods and candy. TAPOUT Performance Drinks are also a very convenient way to ensure you supply your body with the vitamins, antioxidants, and electrolytes it needs to keep it going strong.
Sources:
Exercising to relax - Harvard health publishing. Harvard Health. (2020, July 7). Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax#:~:text=The%20mental%20benefits%20of%20aerobic,natural%20painkillers%20and%20mood%20elevators