A balanced life is a key to a healthy and happy heart, and vigorous longevity. You may also notice that trying to focus on too many tasks at one time can leave you feeling nervous, numb, and overwhelmed. The human brain, amazing as it, can only focus on a few things at once; and can only hold one thought at a time. So it is very important to prioritize the essential things in our lives.
Many people notice that when they work too many hours, or too many days in a row they start to get unhappy, cranky, and difficult to be around. You may also notice that trying to focus on too many tasks at one time can leave you feeling nervous, numb, and overwhelmed. The human brain, amazing as it, can only focus on a few things at once; and can only hold one thought at a time. So it is very important to prioritize the essential things in our lives.
A balanced life is a key to a healthy and happy heart, and vigorous longevity. We all get out of balance sometimes, and this creates stress in our lives and predisposes to an irritable heart and a sour attitude. On the other hand, balance feels good and promotes health, healing, and happiness. The more often you can achieve and maintain a healthy balance in your life, the better.
Returning to the basics brings balance to our lives. Everyone has his or her own way of finding balance, but for most people it involves focusing on things like family and friends, rest and relaxation, fitness and fun, and nature and nutrition. I have learned that when I make it a point to regularly devote time and energy to these priorities, I feel more peaceful, less stressed, more energetic, and “just happy to be alive”, to use one of my mother’s aphorisms. Especially when you are feeling stressed and under the gun, try to simplify your life by coming back to these fundamentals and see if restoring a healthy balance doesn’t help to make your heart feel more at peace.
Rest and Relax
Get your sleep and rest. Sleep is a time for healing and rejuvenating. Modern life is too often full of pressures, anxieties, and hassles and this causes our stress hormones like cortisol to rise. Cortisol raises your blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol levels and causes food cravings, especially for junk food. If you shortchange your sleep, these stress hormones accumulate and can lead to obesity and many diseases. Deep and restful sleep calms your system, and resets these stress hormones back down to their healthy ranges. You awaken renewed, recharged, and reinvigorated. Problems that felt overwhelming when you collapsed into bed just eight hours ago often seem perfectly manageable in the bright light of a new day when you feel rested and re-energized.
Heart Institute Research Reveals Risks for Athletes
You might think that highly trained athletes would be the least likely to be at risk for sudden cardiac death, but research conducted at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute shows that may not be the case. And to some degree, race can influence the likelihood of cardiac abnormalities.
Physicians Strive to Prevent Sudden Death in Athletes
As the father of four active, healthy children, I can only imagine how devastating it would be for one of them to die suddenly from a heart ailment. And yet, a little more than a year ago, my good friend and mentor Bob Conn, went through just such a tragedy when his 22-year-old grandson, Jordan Mann, died suddenly.
10 Tips for Staying Lean Through the Holiday Season
The holiday season may be hazardous to your health.Studies show that Americans typically gain about seven pounds over the holiday season each year, and some of it stays on permanently despite the New Year's resolutions to get it off. Even more worrisome are reports showing increased risks of heart attack, dangerous cardiac rhythms, and even death during the holidays. Emotional stress, depression, over-eating, not enough exercise, and too much salt and alcohol are all likely to be playing a role. Make sure you and your family stay healthy and happy this year by following these 10 rules for safely navigating the holiday hazards.
