If you don’t like running or cycling, why not try your hand at gardening? Find out how gardening and housework can help your heart.
According to a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association, daily life movements can help prevent cardiovascular disease in women over 62 years old. In other words, even if you can’t do intense workouts, you can improve your health through hobbies like gardening.
Moreover, the study shows that getting at least four hours of daily life movement can lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease by 43%. Steve Nguyen, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and lead author of the study, says they “hope the results of this study become part of the conversation for encouraging more movement throughout the day for older adults who are unable or uninterested in higher intensity activities.”
Women’s Health
While heart disease is already the leading cause of death for U.S. women, postmenopausal women are at particular risk. Various factors can increase your chances of heart disease and sedentary lifestyles can increase your risk by 42%.
For this reason, experts recommend that most adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. However, this can be intimidating to older adults, which is why this study is important.
“Light intensity physical activity makes up 69% of daily life movement,” says Nguyen. “It is also recognized as having benefits for heart health. Since daily life movement is something we all do and is safe, we should encourage it more.”
Benefits of Moving
By moving about and doing something as simple as gardening or housework, you can ease muscle weakness and stiffness. Eleanor Levin, MD, clinical professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, “[encourages] activities such as walking in 10-minute increments [and] trying to reach 30 minutes daily. Gardening, housework, and even standing help prevent muscle weakening and frailty.”
In addition, moving can help reduce chronic stress, which can otherwise take a toll on the cardiovascular system. Some daily activities that everyone can do include showering and bathing, doing dishes, folding laundry, sweeping, yard work, and gardening.
The Outlook
While the study focuses on women of a certain age, Nguyen explains how daily activities like this can benefit everyone. “Any amount of movement is better than none,” says Nguyen. “And it is never too late to start accumulating more movement.”
In addition to daily life movements, you can benefit your heart health by taking supplements like HeartBeet Complete. Its ingredients are effective at promoting circulation, blood pressure, energy levels, and more. If you’re ready to support your heart health, then start moving about and take HeartBeet Complete.
