Spring is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts, so its also a perfect time to revisit your habits and adopt some heart-healthy routines. During the winter months, its easy to become sedentary, but spring is the time to get back in motion and take advantage of all that Mother Nature has to offer.
Here are five ways you can get back into the swing of things to have a heart-healthy spring.
Plant a Garden
Planting a garden offers several benefits for both your physical and mental health. First, you have the chance to grow your own healthy vegetables. Whats better than walking outside to pick your lunch? But the benefits of gardening go beyond being able to grow healthy food; gardening itself is good for your heart. It decreases stress, burns calories, and studies show it reduces your risk of heart disease. Plus, youre boosting your immune system with the suns all-natural vitamin D!
Research also has linked gardening to enhanced joy and creativity, as well as a sense of awe and purpose and who doesnt want that?
If you dont have a backyard or enough room to create an outdoor garden, consider making a windowsill garden. Theyre great for small spaces and provide some of the same benefits as an outdoor garden.
Get Outside and Move
Warmer weather + sunshine = the perfect reason to get outside and exercise. Getting fresh air is good for you in many ways, and being in nature can improve your blood pressure and heart rate, as well as boost positive emotions.
In a time when everyone is concerned about COVID-19, experts say that exercise outside is still recognized as safe; as just mentioned, there are many benefits to getting outside and breathing fresh air. However, where you live can make a big difference in what you can do outside.
Its important to be able to maintain a safe social distance from others right now, but Dara K. Lee Lewis, a cardiologist and co-director of the Womens Program at the Lown Cardiovascular Center in Massachusetts, advises that getting outside and exercising remains one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself.
Dont overlook activities like hiking in the woods, riding a bike or other fun forms of exercise that can be done with others while maintaining a bit of distance.
Give Your Plate a Makeover
Soups and stews and warm comfort foods are staples of wintertime, but as the seasons change, so should your meals. One of the great things about spring is the abundance of fresh, seasonal food. Take advantage of it by making fresh fruits and vegetables a mainstay of your spring diet.
Incorporate more salads into your diet, and aim to get 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Thats the number of servings recommended to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease and more. Theres no more delicious way to improve your heart health!
Do Something for Others
Volunteering is a wonderful way to improve your connection to other people, improve their lives and bolster your heart health.
A study from Carnegie Mellon University found that older adults who volunteer for at least four hours a week decreased their high blood pressure by 40%. It appears that what kind of volunteer work you do doesnt matter, what matters is only that you do it. A study by Eric S. Kim, a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that people who volunteer have a great sense of purpose, which is another positive emotion shown to improve heart health. In fact, one study found that people with a higher sense of purpose showed a lower risk of having a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to people who didnt have a strong sense of purpose.
Whether your form of volunteering is making phone calls to those who are lonely and need someone to talk to, or it involves helping out at a school or soup kitchen, youre doing more than helping others youre doing your heart a huge favor!
Change Your Beverage
You are what you eat, the saying goes, but what you drink can really do some damage! We arent just talking about alcohol, although when consumed in excess, that can definitely wreak havoc on your heart health. As the warmer weather returns, so do some of our favorite beverages, like sweet tea, lemonade and frozen coffee drinks.
However, those drinks can be loaded with sugar, so look for healthier alternatives. Try a cold brew coffee instead of a rich frozen drink; drink your tea unsweetened or with a touch of honey. Or, if youre craving a bit of lemonade, try squeezing fresh lemons into your water. (Youll get the added bonus of some vitamin C!)
When it comes to soft drinks, which are loaded with unhealthy ingredients, avoid swapping out a diet soda as an alternative, since they use artificial sweeteners that have been linked to an increase in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Your best bet is to reach for a glass of water, which will help you stay hydrated and healthy. And, if you dont like your water plain, add cucumber, lemon or lime to it for a refreshing change.
Put Some Spring in Your Step
As springtime returns, this is a great time to spruce up your lifestyle with healthy habits. Whats your favorite springtime health habit? Tell us in the comments below!
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