Healthy Heart Tip: Still time to start fresh

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Still time to start fresh

We often wait until the new year to reassess our health status and make a start on our wellness goals, but this year isn’t over yet. There is still time to make positive improvements to our health and wellbeing before 2023 arrives.

Why not take some time to reflect on your health goals for this year (or make some if you didn’t earlier in the year) and put steps in place to end the year with new habits.

To help you along, here are some ideas you could focus on:

Increase your intake of plants

We all know we should be aiming to consume five portions of fruits and vegetables a day, but lots of us don’t manage this consistently. A diet full of fresh produce is also rich in fibre which can lower our risk of heart disease and stroke.

To help make sure you tick the 5-a-day box, aim to consume one portion at breakfast (fruit works well here), and then two portions with lunch and your evening meal. You could jot down a checklist and stick it to your fridge to remind you.

Check your hydration levels

Staying hydrated is important for keeping your heart and circulatory system healthy. Symptoms of dehydration include headaches, tiredness, irritability and difficulty concentrating. Make sure you are drinking six to eight cups or glasses of water a day or choose herbal teas or sugar-free squash if you don’t like plain water.

Adequate hydration is a cornerstone of health, so make a commitment now to be aware of it and put steps in place to reach your fluid intake goals – such as filling up a water bottle twice a day.

Prioritise sleep

Poor sleep can negatively impact our heart health, along with many other areas of our physical and mental wellbeing.

Prioritising your seven to nine hours shut eye every day is one of the best things you can do to support your overall health.

To support a healthy night’s rest try turning off screens in the hour before bedtime, limit your caffeine consumption after midday and spend lots of time outdoors during daylight hours.

See our previous Healthy Tip on Sleep for some more help. 

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy-tips.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/.

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/.