Your heart is the single most important organ in your body. It’s what allows every other organ, muscle, and cell in your body to function by supplying them all with oxygen. Keeping your cardiovascular health strong is the key to living a long and prosperous life, and there are so many different ways to support it. Below are just a few of the easiest and most effective ways to keep your heart strong and healthy throughout the rest of your life.

1. Reduce your daily stress

Frequent or chronic stress has been shown to be extremely detrimental to your blood pressure and overall circulation, since the hormone imbalance can produce adverse effects when occurring over a long period of time. Keeping your stress less frequent and less intense is essential to keeping a strong heart.[1]

2. Get lots of high-quality sleep

Sleep is another one of those things that work wonders for every part of the body. Blood pressure naturally lowers while asleep, so staying up for more hours in the day means your body experiences higher blood pressure for longer, increasing the risk of heart disease.[2]

3. Be active everyday

Being active doesn’t have to mean intense exercise, it can be simple things, like getting up and walking around the house periodically. Moving your body and boosting your heart rate through yoga, housework, or anything else, is a sure way to keep your heart healthy.[3]

4. Eat healthy

Much like sleep, a healthy diet is essential to keeping a strong and healthy heart. Foods that lower blood pressure and inflammation are the best to incorporate in any diet, like leafy greens or beets.[4]

5. Monitor your cardiovascular health regularly

Regular checkups with a doctor or self-checking your vital signs are important to knowing how healthy your heart is at any given time. Any sudden and prolonged changes in blood pressure, heart rate, or blood sugar could indicate that your heart has a problem.

6. Do things that make you happy

Those who are happier actually tend to live longer than their pessimistic counterparts. Being happy lowers blood pressure and keeps your body in balance, making it easier to manage heart disease in the long term.[5]

7. Lower your cholesterol intake

There are 2 types of cholesterol: LDL and HDL. LDL is the bad cholesterol that leads to fatty buildups in the arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, or other diseases. Lowering intake of LDL cholesterol keeps your arteries clear and your heart healthy.[6]