The Heart of the Matter
4 ways your relationship may impact your heart health…
Well, here we are, in National Heart Health Month!
We all generally “know” what to do to keep our hearts healthy – eat right, exercise, get adequate sleep, etc. To that end, we’ve already been inundated with statistics on cardiovascular health and bombarded with diet and exercise recommendations. In this post, I’ll spare you the repetitive nature of that, though I do consider that extremely important and hope that each of you are taking your heart health very seriously. Be sure to check out my short video on heart health for more information here.
Let’s switch gears and celebrate a big holiday earlier this month, loved by many – Valentine’s Day! Hearts, flowers, candy (not too much candy… ha!)… love is still in the air this month 💙
Considering love, you may have heard that healthy relationships have a positive impact on your health, specifically cardiovascular health. But what does that really mean? Check out a few ways that your relationships impact your heart health:
1. Hugs
Studies have linked hugging with an increased vagal response, resulting in relaxation. The relaxing effect may be due to an increase in oxytocin levels as a result of vagus nerve stimulation that happens when you are hugging someone. Increased oxytocin levels are implicated in decreasing both heart rate and cortisol (stress hormone – think “fight or flight”) levels. In fact, one study showed lower blood pressure and higher oxytocin levels in women who received more frequent hugs than their counterparts receiving fewer hugs. So, cuddle up! But make sure you are giving and getting “firm” hugs… quality counts, in this case.
2. Sex
A 2010 study found lower incidence of heart disease in men who had sex at least twice a week versus those only having sex once per month. Enough said. Let’s get it on... lol!
3. Emotional support
Recent studies indicate a strong correlation between social or emotional support and positive health outcomes. The benefit of emotional support is actually a two-way street, with both those giving and receiving support realizing cardiovascular benefits, including lower blood pressure. So, like many aspects of healthy relationships, it feels just as good to give as it does to receive!
4. Humor/laughter
Research implicates laughter in decreases in cortisol and inflammation of blood vessels, both of which are factors in heart disease risk. In this case, more is better, as the beneficial effects of laughter are believed to last 24 hours. Keep in mind the converse is also true, with angry or hostile people having higher heart disease rates. So, every day, make sure you get in some quality laughter. Your heart will thank you!
Now that we know the cool science nerd stuff about how healthy relationships are good for our cardiovascular health, what do we do? We put forth some serious effort into ensuring our relationships contain all of these elements and put the science into action! So bottom line, just know that hearts and flowers may benefit you far beyond February 14th… if you work it right... 💙
For more health tips with a twist, “Meet Marcy” here again soon. Also, if there’s something on your mind that you’d like to discuss, shoot us a message or comment and we’ll do our absolute best to get you what you’re looking for!
Peace and good health! Ciao!
-M
