Top Ways to Reduce Stress (and Save Your Heart)

 Stress test in Edmonton. We all experience it and everyone can benefit from reducing it. Stress can affect your health — including your heart health. And reducing stress can help prevent and even reverse conditions that can lead to heart disease. So what can you do to reduce stress and save your heart?

Here are some stress reduction tips that may have the added benefit of improving your heart health.

AN EXERCISE

Regular exercise and increasing your activity level throughout the day can reduce stress. Exercise reduces the body's production of the stress hormone cortisol. It also releases endorphins, which are known to be good mood chemicals. But they not only make you feel good, they also help fight stress. The key to incorporating regular exercise into your life is finding activities you enjoy. If your workout is boring and just something you have to do, the stress relief benefits may not be that great. But if you enjoy these activities, you will feel double benefits. Before starting a new exercise program, talk to your doctor to make sure it's safe for you.

LAUGH

Laughter is a great way to reduce stress hormones. It also helps reduce inflammation and can increase HDL (good cholesterol). This is what makes your body laugh: It increases the oxygen levels in your body; helps relieve tension by relaxing your muscles; reduce your stress response; and can help improve your mood and immune system. Laughter is good for us. So try finding humor in your everyday life (laughing at yourself is good), spending time with people who make you laugh (we've all seen how contagious laughter can be), or watching a comedy movie or show.

Practice yoga

Yoga helps to relax and strengthen your body, calm your mind and focus your mind. This is a great exercise for your heart. Helps lower blood pressure and the risk of other heart diseases. It can also help you manage the unavoidable stresses in your life.

THANK YOU

Keeping a Thanksgiving journal, or just spending a few minutes each day thinking about what you're grateful for, can have many health benefits and major consequences that can protect your heart health and reduce stress. It can improve your mood, boost your immune system, reduce the effects of aging on the brain, help you sleep better, and reduce stress. One study found that grateful people reduced the stress hormone cortisol by about 25%.

MEDITATION OR PRAYER

Meditation and prayer have been shown to lower blood pressure and the risk of other heart diseases. They can also help you focus on what's important to you and manage stress more effectively.