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5 Everyday Habits That Are ‘Breaking’ Your Heart

Dr. Rajpal Singh

3 Min Read

Experts have suggested that young people living in urban areas are increasingly becoming victims of heart diseases. Don’t be under the misconception that heart problems happen due to cholesterol and diabetes. In today’s time, you’re hurting your heart more with the habits you regularly engage in. Read on to find out what habits are actually ‘breaking’ your heart:

Sitting for a long time

Sitting for hours is affecting more than your heart. Here’s what happens to your body when you sit still for a long time:

~ It becomes difficult for your body to breakdown fat.

~ Breakdown of glucose is slower.

All these lead to slow metabolism, obesity, type 2 diabetes and risk of heart diseases.

Eating poorly

You know that processed foods are bad for your health, but you continue to eat them. Saturated fat, sodium and added sugars spell disaster for your heart health. Packed food items too contain hydrogenated oils, which don’t help your heart at all. They increase the LDL level (bad cholesterol) in your body. Too much LDL clogs your arteries resulting in atherosclerosis, a type of heart disease. Try to limit your consumption of processed and packaged foods for longer life.

Stressing too much

It is not surprising to see stress in this list, but one can’t ignore the reality that stress is pretty much the cause of almost every lifestyle disease. Stress triggers the release of adrenaline, which may increase your blood pressure and heart rate. Prolonged stress can put a strain on the heart blood vessels and raise your risk of stroke or heart attack. Try to blow off some steam by sharing your feelings with a trusted friend or family member or practice meditation regularly. This will help you a lot.

Not sleeping well

Our demanding lifestyles often make us consider that sleep is a luxury. A good night’s sleep boosts your energy levels, aids the body to repair itself and is responsible for helping you function normally throughout the day. If you are sleep deprived, your blood pressure stays higher, and we know this amounts to heart diseases. Moreover, lack of sleep increases your chances of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes. Stick to a regular sleep schedule if you don’t want to hurt your heart health.

Smoking and boozing

This one’s a no-brainer, but you must remember that even if you do not smoke, habitual passive smoking can also be harmful to your heart health. Breathing second-hand smoke can initiate acute coronary problems. And of course, smoking is a strong risk factor for heart diseases. On the other hand, you might want to loosen up on the alcohol. Consuming more than two drinks a day for men and one drink per day for women can be detrimental for your heart health. Alcoholism can interfere with the pumping capacity of the heart and you don’t want your heart to stop, do you?