Five Things to do Every Day to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Each year at Gilbane, we recognize American Heart Month to help raise awareness on the importance of taking care of our hearts and to encourage our employees to incorporate healthy habits into their daily routines. Gilbane’s Live Well Program offers multiple free services to help our employees maintain a healthy lifestyle including on-site biometric screenings, smoking cessation coaching, health coaching, on-site flu shots, diabetes management program and a variety of trainings on topics like knowing the risks of heart conditions. This program is an important part of our approach to supporting our employees’ total wellbeing.

For many of us, a new year means setting new goals. As we kick off 2021, it gives us a great chance to start or reset our healthy habits. Habits like managing stress, getting enough quality sleep, and eating a nutritious diet help keep our hearts healthy.

Five things to do every day to keep your heart healthy and lower your risk of heart disease.

1. Choose heart-healthy foods

Your diet plays a huge role in living a heart-healthy lifestyle and it’s all about choosing to eat certain foods and limiting others. Look for foods such as whole grains, oily fish, leafy greens, berries, avocados, nuts and seeds – and don’t forget the dark chocolate! You’ll want to limit foods with high sodium, saturated and trans fats and added sugar.

2. Get moving

A regular exercise routine can help lower your blood pressure, control your weight, strengthen your muscles, lower stress and much more. All these factors can help benefit your heart health so get moving! Start small – it’s as simple as parking a bit further from the building entrance, choosing the stairs instead of the elevator, or going for a leisurely walk on your lunch break.

At Gilbane, as part of our employee benefits, we focus on supporting employees’ total wellbeing: occupational safety, mental/emotional wellness, financial wellbeing and physical wellness. We help encourage physical fitness by hosting companywide step challenges throughout the year and by offering a fitness reimbursement program. All employees are eligible to submit fitness expenses such as gym memberships and classes, fitness equipment such as treadmills and even weight management programs, for reimbursement up to a certain amount each year.

3. Get enough good-quality sleep

Getting the right amount of sleep is essential to your overall wellbeing and is just as important as diet and exercise. How can we improve our quality of sleep and sleep habits? A few tips:

• Create a calm bedroom environment – keep it dark, quiet and a comfortable temperature
• Avoid watching television or scrolling through your phone in bed
• Avoid consuming caffeine late in the day
• Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day – this will help your body develop a consistent rhythm
• Avoid heavy/large meals a few hours before bedtime

4. Stay Connected

Did you know that staying connected with one another is good for your heart? Individuals who have good relationships with friends, family and colleagues tend to be healthier. One reason, according to a recent study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), is that we’re more successful at meeting our health goals when we join forces with others. NHLBI launched the #OurHearts movement to inspire us to protect and strengthen our hearts with the support of others.

5. Practice Self-Care

We all get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of life, but don’t forget to make time to treat yourself well. Try setting aside a few minutes of “me-time” each day to practice mindfulness through meditation, deep breathing exercising, or yoga. This will help you slow down your busy life for a bit and help manage stress. A little time goes a long way!

These five healthy habits are examples of simple things you can quite easily incorporate into your daily life that will support heart-health. We encourage you to learn and understand the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Learn more about heart attack and stroke symptoms by visiting the American Heart Association website.