6 Tiny Habits That Could Protect Your Heart After 40

Micro habits work because they lower the amount of motivation required to begin.

Instead of telling yourself, I have to get in shape, you decide to take a five-minute walk.

Instead of declaring that you'll never eat processed food again, you check the sodium on one item before you put it in the cart.

I did buy the low sodium potato chips, by the way, just so you know.

Small actions like that create less internal resistance.

And once an action becomes familiar, you can expand it, but you don't have to expand it before it starts helping.

Let's look at six heart healthy micro habits that can fit into a real life.

First one we've already mentioned, walk five minutes after a meal.

Adults are generally encouraged to get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week, along with muscle strength, muscle and strength training activity on a couple of days, two of those days.

That's a valuable goal, but it can sound enormous when you're starting from very little.

So don't begin with 150 minutes.

Begin with five.

Choose one meal, lunch or dinner.

They tend to work especially well.

And take five minute walk afterward.

Walk outside, around your building, through the house, or down the driveway.

The location really matters less than the decision to get up and move.

Now, five minutes may not feel like exercise, but that's actually part of the charm.

It's difficult to argue that you don't have five minutes.

Once you're moving, five may occasionally become ten, but five still counts.

Your short periods of activity can contribute to your weekly total.

Regular movement supports blood pressure control, blood sugar regulation, your cholesterol levels, and your cardiovascular fitness.

It also interrupts the long stretches of sitting that have become common in modern life.

If walking isn't safe or comfortable for you, choose another accessible movement, seated marching, gentle cycling, water exercise, or a few minutes of standing and moving your arms.

The best activity is one that your body can safely perform and your life will allow you to repeat.

Micro habits work because they lower the amount of motivation required to begin.

Instead of telling yourself, I have to get in shape, you decide to take a five-minute walk.

Instead of declaring that you'll never eat processed food again, you check the sodium on one item before you put it in the cart.

I did buy the low sodium potato chips, by the way, just so you know.

Small actions like that create less internal resistance.

And once an action becomes familiar, you can expand it, but you don't have to expand it before it starts helping.

Let's look at six heart healthy micro habits that can fit into a real life.

First one we've already mentioned, walk five minutes after a meal.

Adults are generally encouraged to get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity each week, along with muscle strength, muscle and strength training activity on a couple of days, two of those days.

That's a valuable goal, but it can sound enormous when you're starting from very little.

So don't begin with 150 minutes.

Begin with five.

Choose one meal, lunch or dinner.

They tend to work especially well.

And take five minute walk afterward.

Walk outside, around your building, through the house, or down the driveway.

The location really matters less than the decision to get up and move.

Now, five minutes may not feel like exercise, but that's actually part of the charm.

It's difficult to argue that you don't have five minutes.

Once you're moving, five may occasionally become ten, but five still counts.

Your short periods of activity can contribute to your weekly total.

Regular movement supports blood pressure control, blood sugar regulation, your cholesterol levels, and your cardiovascular fitness.

It also interrupts the long stretches of sitting that have become common in modern life.

If walking isn't safe or comfortable for you, choose another accessible movement, seated marching, gentle cycling, water exercise, or a few minutes of standing and moving your arms.

The best activity is one that your body can safely perform and your life will allow you to repeat.