February is Heart Health Month. It’s a month focused on encouraging healthy habits to prevent cardiovascular disease, so that will be our focus this month as well.

Keeping your strongest and most important muscle in your body, your heart, healthy is critical. To keep it healthy and strong, you need to treat it right.

1. Get your sleep– Shoot for 7-9 hours each night. Studies show people who get at least 7 hours have healthier arteries.
2. Watch your pressure — Get your blood pressure checked regularly.
3. Get your cholesterol checked–If it’s been a while since you’ve had your cholesterol checked, put it on your to-do list.
4. Find out if you have diabetes– Many people are either diabetic or prediabetic and don’t even know it. If you are over 45, over weight, or have a family history of diabetes, have your blood sugar checked regularly.
5. Move more– All you need to do is move for 30 minutes, 5 days a week working hard enough to break a sweat.  Also, break up long periods of sitting with a walk around the office or house. Being overly sedentary is not health
6. Eat clean– your heart runs best when it is being fed clean fuel.  Eat more plant-based foods like veggies, fruits, seeds, beans and nuts.
7. Stay away from smoke— Smoking and secondhand smoke are bad for your heart. If you smoke, quit, and don’t spend time around others who smoke.
8. Manage stress– Do more of what you love. Let go of people and circumstances you can’t control. Spend time with people you love. Laugh more.

Here’s to a Healthy Heart!