6 STEPS TO A HAPPY HEART

6 Steps To A Happy Heart

Achieving a heathy heart doesn't just include the medical and physical side. Your emotional health plays a key role too. Here are 6 things you can start doing today to raise your spirits.

It is interesting how many people shun emotional health advice. They believe that heart health requires more serious steps: medicine, supplements, rigorous diets, formal exercise regimens. But this isn’t the whole picture. Research has confirmed the healing power of a positive attitude and a good laugh. A sense of spirituality can help as well. This is not alternative medicine or the wishful thinking of eternal-youth seeking baby boomers. Happiness does matter. The following six steps are essential to the 30-Minutes-a-Day Plan.

1. Your Soul

Belief, whether in a higher being, the power of nature, or even yourself, is both grounding and healthy. A big part of this is optimism. People who use words such as “joy” and “hope” to describe their attitudes toward life outlive their more pessimistic counterparts by a decade. No matter what your situation, the power to do away with anger and embrace the good things in life lies in your hands.

2. Enjoy Life

Some time between leaving our parents’ homes and signing up to a 25-year mortgage agreement of our own, we stop having as much fun as we used to. We all have serious adult responsibilities, but we also have a responsibility to our hearts to let go and have some childlike fun. Studies show that people whose lives are filled with laughter are much less likely to have heart disease.

3. Practice Relaxing Rituals

As life gets more rushed, stress rises and heart disease follows. You can’t change the world, but you can change your response to it. Daily rituals such as meditation, yoga, quiet time, bedtime relaxation and even just walking a dog can quell stress and reduce your risk of heart disease.

4. Drink a Glass of Wine Each Day

Those who enjoy a glass of wine with dinner may lower their heart disease risk, according to some health experts. Limit your alcohol to a weekly maximum of 14 drinks for men and nine for women. Interestingly, wine, especially red wine, seems to have a more beneficial effect than other alcoholic drinks.

5. Create a Safe Haven

They say that home is where the heart is, so make yours a refuge for your heart. Create a soothing ambiancewith fresh flowers and plants, music, a relaxing bedroom and some quiet space where you can go when you need to think. Spending most of your time relaxed instead of stressed can halve your heart disease risk.

6. Share Yourself

Hearts are happiest and healthiest when they’re in the company of others. Don’t be so busy that you can’t make time for your loved ones — whether they are your family or your friends or both.