As the stock market goes up and down, your heart may be taking the shock.
Instead of worrying about the economy, being optimistic might give your heart a boost, says cardiologist and medical researcher Jerome E. Granato, MD.
He cites a recent 15-year study, published in the Annals of Family Medicine, which found that optimistic people had 3 times lower incidence of death from heart attacks and strokes than their pessimistic counterparts.
Besides being optimistic, watching your diet, and exercising regularly, Dr. Granato says one of the best ways you can benefit heart health is by reducing the amount of stress in your life and by how you respond to stressors.
“If you obsess about the financial news, for example, and get so angry and wound up that you have a hard time sleeping at night, then stress could definitely be taking a toll on your heart,” says Dr. Granato. He adds that worrying and chronic stress have been linked to everything from weight gain, depression, and insomnia to substance abuse and an increase in risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Dr. Granato advises his stressed-out patients to take a break from the upsetting news on their TVs and car radios. Here are 7 of his favorite everyday techniques for reducing stress.
- Scream in your car. When you’re not at a stoplight, try screaming your head off. Aside from being temporarily hoarse, you’ll feel better instantly.
- Take a bath in the dark. Hot water plus silence and no visual stimulation equals total relaxation. Steam in the tub, breathe deeply, and let worries melt away as your mind wanders.
- Use the clicker. Avoid maddening or violent programs at night. Mute the commercials if their increased volume annoys you.
- Revise your standards. If you’re a perfectionist, take pressure off yourself when it won’t matter one wink to anyone but you.
- Huff and puff. Any activity that makes you temporarily short of breath, such as sprinting, biking uphill, or swimming, is a stress buster. If you have no time for an aerobic activity, simply sit and do deep, fast breathing. It oxygenates your brain and blood and takes away the strain. It’s also great for your lungs and heart.
- Program your iPod. Music really does relax you. Find a dozen or more songs that make you feel happy and calm. Listen to them whenever you feel most uptight—like at the end of your workday.
- Break it down. The reason many of us feel stress is because we’re overwhelmed by work, by too many options, and by information. The big picture is simply too big to grasp. Break tasks or problems into small parts that you can tackle easily.
Dr. Granato is Medical Director of the Coronary Care Unit of Allegheny General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Drexel College of Medicine. His new book is called Living with Coronary Heart Disease. |
