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Positive and consistent habits are important to achieve your personal goals. Small habits done consistently can add up to big results. To create a new healthy habit, think through the steps that could lead to your desired outcome. Ask yourself whether you want to do it, if it’s easy and if it’s high impact. It’s important to choose habits that make a difference and move you closer to your goals.
For example, if one of your goals is improving your heart health, a meaningful habit might be to move more. Increasing physical activity can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol along with many other health benefits, Gibbs said.
“Every little bit of activity is better than none,” she said. “Even small initial increases of 5-10 minutes a day can yield health benefits.”
Use Rewards to Make Habits Stick
Start by choosing a habit you enjoy that’s rewarding by itself. If you’re more of a dancer than runner, increase your physical activity with an upbeat dance class. You might also look for a more enjoyable version of a new habit, such as getting more fruits and veggies by sipping on a delicious smoothie.
Understand Resets are Part of the Process
New habits are experiments. If they don’t stick, you haven’t failed. Instead, you’ve learned what doesn’t work, which is useful. Get curious and ask yourself which part of the habit didn’t work for
Photos courtesy of Getty Images you. Maybe the cue was ineffective. Maybe the steps of the routine were too ambitious and you need to split them into smaller, easier steps. If you realize you don’t enjoy the habit, stop doing it and try something else. Find more inspiration and ideas to jumpstart healthy habits this year at heart.org/habits.
What You Need to Know About Cholesterol
Stay in control to help prevent heart disease, heart attack and stroke
(Family Features) Understanding and improving cholesterol is important for people of all ages, including children and teens. Maintaining healthy cholesterol levels can help keep your heart healthy and lower your chances of getting heart disease or having a stroke.
High cholesterol usually has no symptoms. In fact, about 38% of adults in the United States are diagnosed with high cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association. Understanding what cholesterol is, the role it plays, when to get screened and how to manage it are important aspects of protecting your overall health and prevent a heart attack or stroke.
Understanding Cholesterol
A waxy, fat-like substance created by the liver and consumed from meat, poultry and dairy products, cholesterol isn’t inherently bad for you. In fact, your body needs it to build cells and make vitamins and other hormones. However, too much cholesterol circulating in the blood can pose a problem.
The two types of cholesterol are low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is considered “bad,” and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which can be thought of as “good” cholesterol. Too much of the “bad” kind, or not enough of the “good,” increases the risk of cholesterol slowly building up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain.
Cholesterol can join with other substances to form a thick, hard deposit on the inside of the arteries called plaque. This can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible - a condition known as atherosclerosis. If a blood clot forms, it may be more likely to get stuck in one of these narrowed arteries, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
Your body naturally produces all the LDL it needs. An unhealthy lifestyle can make your body produce more LDL than required. Behaviors that may negatively affect your cholesterol levels include lack of physical activity, obesity, eating an unhealthy diet and smoking or exposure to tobacco smoke.
In addition to unhealthy habits, which are the cause of high LDL cholesterol for most people, some people inherit genes from their parents or grandparents - called familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) - that cause them to have too much cholesterol and can lead to premature atherosclerotic heart disease. If you have a family history of FH or problems related to high cholesterol, it’s important to get your levels checked.
Getting Cholesterol Checked
Adults age 20 and older should have their cholesterol and other traditional risk factors checked every 4-6 years as long as their risk remains low. After age 40, your health care professional will use an equation to calculate your 10-year risk of heart attack or stroke. People with cardiovascular disease, and those at elevated risk, may need their cholesterol and other risk factors assessed more often.
Managing Cholesterol
If you have high cholesterol, understanding your risk for heart disease and stroke is one of the most important things you can do, along with taking steps to lower your cholesterol.
Often, simply changing certain behaviors can help bring your numbers into line. Eating a heart-healthy diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean or plant-based protein, fish and nuts while limiting red and processed meats, sodium and sugarsweetened foods and beverages is one of the best ways to lower your cholesterol. While grocery shopping, look for the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark to help identify foods that can be part of an overall healthy eating pattern.
Other lifestyle changes include losing weight, quitting smoking and becoming more physically active, as a sedentary lifestyle can lower HDL. To help lower both cholesterol and high blood pressure, experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week, such as walking, biking or swimming.
For some people, lifestyle changes may prevent or manage unhealthy cholesterol levels. For others, medication may also be needed. Work with your doctor to develop a treatment plan that’s right for you. If medication is required, be sure to take it as prescribed.
Controlling your cholesterol may be easier than you think. Learn more about managing your cholesterol at heart.org/cholesterol.
January 2023 The Reporter 29 The Impact of Physical Activity on
Loneliness and Social Isolation
(BPT) - It’s been well-established that physical activity like walking, yoga and going to a fitness center has many health benefits for older adults. These include better sleep, less anxiety and reduced risk of heart disease, along with many other benefits that may improve overall health.
But what if physical activity could help older adults feel less alone, even if they were exercising alone?
Researchers from AARP Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare and OptumLabs set out to investigate this question, focusing on two areas: Could physical activity help to reduce social isolation and/ or loneliness? Could physical activity promote higher levels of resilience, purpose or positive perception of aging?
There’s a continued emphasis on supporting older adults as they work to find meaning, purpose and resilience as they age. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may have been harder to find opportunities to exercise, which contributed to greater feelings of social isolation and loneliness.
The results of the study point to strong evidence that physical activity can help older adults feel less alone and socially isolated, as well as positively increase their feelings of resilience and purpose.
Researchers found that: * Moderate and high physical activity were associated with significantly reduced rates (15%-30% lower) of severe loneliness and social isolation * The same level of physical activity was also associated with improved feelings (27%-150% higher) of resilience, purpose and a positive perception of aging
The level of physical activity came from the number of days a week someone would exercise (even walking or gardening), not the intensity of the exercise itself. Moderate to high levels ranged between three to four days a week or five-plus days a week, respectively.
“Continuing to be physically active over time may be one of the best things older adults can do for themselves to promote healthy aging - mental, physical and emotional,” said Shirley Musich, senior research director at OptumInsight and one of the co-authors of the study.
Talk with your doctor about healthy ways to incorporate fitness into your routine. For individuals recovering from an injury, consider seeking advice from a physical therapist who may identify areas requiring special focus.
Olivia M. Howard, LMFT
Individual, Couple & Family Therapy
Over 10 years clinical experience working with children, adolescents & adults
