Hey there everyone and welcome back to the Senior
Safety Advice Podcast. I'm really glad that you're
here with me today because this month, February,
is Heart Health and Emotional Resilience Month.
So today I thought we would talk about some small
habits that can help to protect your heart health.
And I want to start with something that surprises
a lot of people. Heart health isn't built in
the doctor's office. It's built in the quiet
moments of your everyday life. The little choices
that you make throughout the day, the small routines,
the habits that don't feel dramatic at all but
are done on a consistent basis. And honestly,
that's really good news because it means that
you don't have to overhaul your whole life to
protect your heart. You don't necessarily have
to run marathons and you don't necessarily have
to eat perfectly. Let's be honest, who does eat
perfectly? You just need a few steady habits
that support your body instead of stressing it.
And I've seen this over and over again, especially
with older adults and caregivers. I'm Esther
Kane, a retired occupational therapist and currently
a certified aging in place specialist. For years
I've worked with older adults who were in rehabilitation
because of some cardiac issue, either recovery
from some cardiac surgery or they were fighting
a chronic cardiac condition. Both of these issues
could have been prevented or at the very least
reduced if they had just followed some simple
tasks on a consistent basis. Now the people who
do the best aren't the ones who do the most necessarily.
They're the ones doing the simplest things consistently.
Now I've used that word three times already because
I want to emphasize that the important thing
here is to be consistent. So let's talk about
what that really looks like. One of the most
powerful habits for heart health is how you start
your day. It's not what you eat first or not
how much coffee you drink, but how rushed you
feel. When mornings are frantic, the body stays
tense and the heart tends to work harder. I've
noticed that even slowing down by five minutes
makes a big difference. So sitting before you
stand, taking a few slow breaths, letting your
feet touch the floor before you move. That calm
carries forward. Your heart loves calm. Another
small habit that protects heart health is gentle,
regular movement. Not necessarily intense workouts
or pushing through pain. It's not, what was the
phrase? No gain without pain, something like
that. That's not for your heart. Just movement
that feels doable. walking around the house,
stretching while holding onto the counter, standing
up and sitting down a few extra times. I've watched
people lower their blood pressure just by moving
a little more often. Not necessarily longer,
just more often throughout the day. And you can
even set a timer so that every 30 minutes or
20 minutes or whatever works for you, you get
up and walk around. Here's something important.
Your heart doesn't care how fancy the movement
is. It just wants circulation. Even short bursts
help. Another habit that matters more than people
realize is hydration. When the body is dehydrated,
the blood thickens and the heart has to work
harder. A lot of seniors, a lot of older adults
simply forget to drink, or they avoid fluids
because they don't want to have to get up to
use the bathroom. I get it, I get it. But even
a few sips throughout the day support heart function.
One of the best tips I can tell you is when you
wake up in the morning, have at least one eight
ounce glass of water before you have anything
else, before you eat your breakfast, before you
drink your coffee. Just an eight ounce glass
of water. If you can have two, that would be
even better because you've been dehydrated now
all night long and maybe longer if you avoid
drinking after a certain time so you don't have
to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
But you have been dehydrated for a long time,
many hours. So have that glass of water or two
would be better to hydrate yourself and get your
body going and get it moving. I've seen dizziness
improve when doing this, fatigue lift, heart
strain decrease, just from better hydration,
and small sips throughout the day really add
up. My mother used to keep a big bottle of water
on her countertop, and the idea was that that
bottle had to be empty by the end of the day,
so then she knew how much water she should be
drinking. Now, let's talk about breathing. I
know everybody breathes, but the way you breathe
can help your heart. This one is actually quite
huge. When people are stressed or anxious, they
tend to breathe shallowly. That keeps the heart
in a constant state of alert. Slow breathing
tells the heart that it's safe. Even a minute
or two of slow inhales and longer exhales can
lower the heart rate. I often tell people to
breathe like they're fogging a mirror, slow,
gentle, and unforced. It's one of the fastest
ways to calm the heart, and it's always available.
Another small habit that can protect heart health
is reducing background stress. Not all stress.
I mean, really, that's not realistic, but the
constant low -level stress. The kind that comes
from a lot of clutter around your home, from
a lot of noise, from unfinished tasks. I've seen
heart health improve when people simplify their
environment. It's one of the most important things
that I used to tell my patients in rehab. So
do it today. Clear one surface, one drawer at
a time, I always say. Turning off the news for
the day, for the entire day. And if you can't
do that, then for at least part of the day, begin
that way because news these days is very stressful.
Create a quiet corner for yourself. Pick up a
book that you enjoy and spend 30 minutes in the
quiet, enjoying your book or puzzle, whatever
activity you enjoy. Peace of mind supports heart
health more than people think. Then there's sleep.
Now, Many of us as we get older do not get perfect
sleep. I myself tend to sleep in 3 -4 hour increments.
Just better sleep. Going to bed at the same time
or at least a similar time, let's say between,
I don't know, 9 -9 .30, 10 -10 .30, doesn't have
to be exact. Turning the lights down earlier.
Creating a simple wind down routine. The heart
is very good at repairing itself during rest.
When sleep is poor, your blood pressure tends
to rise and inflammation increases. Even small
improvements in sleep habits can protect your
heart. Another habit I love talking about is
connection. Not many people talk about this when
it comes to heart health. But loneliness affects
heart health. It raises your stress hormones.
I've seen seniors improve their heart health
just by reconnecting with others. It could be
phone calls, it could be FaceTime, video chats,
short visits, sitting outside and waving to neighbors,
anything. The heart responds to that sense of
connection. Not just emotional, it's physical.
And laughter helps too. Laughter lowers stress
hormones, it relaxes blood vessels. I've seen
people's faces soften immediately when they laugh.
their breathing changes. And guess what? Your
heart notices all of that. So turn on, instead
of the news, turn on a comedy show. Even one
of the old ones that we used to watch all the
time. You know, watch a Netflix comedian. I know
that there's some that aren't that great and
some are amazing, but... Find the ones that you
like and follow them, watch them, watch them
on YouTube, watch them on your streaming channel,
anywhere at all. Having that laugh instead of
the news will help your heart a lot. Another
small habit that matters is eating with awareness.
Now I'm not talking about strict diets or cutting
out things that you enjoy or major food groups,
just slowing down. eating without rushing, stopping
when you're full and noticing how foods make
you feel. It's the way most Europeans eat and
most Japanese eat. They tend to eat very slowly,
they're relaxed during their meals and they stop
when they're full. That awareness also helps
the heart and it helps your digestion as well.
Now here's something that families don't always
realize. Heart health can be affected by how
safe you feel. Fear keeps the heart on high alert.
You can, if you worry about falling, if you worry
about getting hurt, if you worry about being
alone, about, you know, financial issues or worry
about your family or just worry in general, all
of that easily raises blood pressure. Making
the home safer, adding lighting, fixing small
hazards, just making it generally safer, can
be at least something that you can control to
decrease the worry for that. May not be able
to take away the worry about everything, but
you can at least take away the worry about being
in your home. Safety creates calm and calm easily
supports the heart. Another habit that I want
to talk about that protects heart health is asking
for help sooner. You may not think that that
really helps but it really does and not many
older adults do that. They tend to ask for help
either never or much much later. when it's almost
impossible or too difficult or impossible to
fix. Ignoring symptoms easily adds stress. Wondering
what it is, what is the symptom, adds stress.
I've seen so many of my patients get better just
after simply scheduling an appointment. even
better coming out of that appointment because
now they have some answers from a qualified physician.
Knowing someone that is checking things out really
matters. Peace of mind easily supports heart
health. And here's something that I want to say
very clearly. You don't have to do all of this.
You don't need a checklist. Just pick one habit.
Start there. You can write these down. as a eventual
to do, as a goal kind of thing, but pick one.
Do that one for 30, 60 days, and then once you've
got that down, then pick another one and do that
for 30, 60 days. It can really be that easy.
Heart health is built gently, not forcefully,
and the goal isn't to be perfect. It's not perfection.
It's consistency. I've said it again. Be consistent.
Small habits done often protect the heart over
time. Well, that's all that I have for you today.
I want to thank you again for being here with
me. If today's episode gave you some useful insights
or new ideas, then please share it with someone
who you think might find it helpful as well.
You can discover even more expert tips and helpful
guides for seniors and family caregivers at seniorsafetyadvice
.com. And if you happen to be searching for an
Aging in Place specialist, then visit our other
website at aginginplacedirectory .com. And don't
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So until next time, take care of yourself and
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