Each year, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) marks February as National Heart Month in the UK, and we want to use this opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of prioritising your heart health and understanding the impact of stress on our physical health.
It has been said that entrepreneurs in particular are driven by paramount passion, the romanticisation of experiments, and tireless pursuit of dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt, a former US politician, once rightly said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” The present, as well as the future, belongs to entrepreneurs like you.
Those who dare to dream will go on to inspire others to believe in miracles. You deserve all the appreciation in the world for working in a relentless way to achieve your visionary goals. But are you taking enough care of your wellness and your heart?
In this special guest blog post, Jessica Robinson shares the different ways in which you can keep your heart healthy while pursuing your dreams.
The challenge for entrepreneurs
Being an entrepreneur can be challenging at times, with so much on your plate every day, from managing meetings to innovating new business ideas. With so much to occupy your day, it can be hard to find time for yourself and your well-being.
With 45% of business owners reporting that they are stressed, it is critical to note that workplace stress and long working hours can make you vulnerable to illnesses like heart diseases. Which is why it is essential that you care for your wellness and heart health as much as you are taking care of your business and career.
Furthermore, a study by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that people who work for 55 hours a week are 16% more likely to be diagnosed with heart diseases. The study also reported that people who work for 70 hours a week are almost 75% more vulnerable to heart sickness.
With these statistics in mind, it’s clear that prioritising self-care and heart health is becoming increasingly important, especially for entrepreneurs working around the clock. However, it’s also clear that taking time out from work to focus on self-care can feel difficult for entrepreneurs.
So, how can you look after your heart while staying engaged in your business and striving for success? Here are five ideas to get you started.
1. Do your best to stay active
Engaging in physical activity is crucial for your heart’s health and light exercise such as walking and stretching are some of the most natural ways to stay healthy. However, it can be difficult to fit these physical activities into a busy work schedule.
A wide spectrum of medical journals highlight the strong connection between physical activity and cardiovascular health. The following reasons, as cited by the American Heart Association, further elaborate on the vital benefits of regular exercise:
Continuous physical activities keep blood pressure in check
Exercise mitigates the risks of obesity
A routine driven by physical activities helps in the reduction of bad cholesterol
Exercise can enhance insulin sensitivity in the body
Keeping the body moving and engaging in physical activity doesn’t have to mean intense gym sessions, running or team sports. Here are a few small ways to stay active throughout the day:
If you communute to work, cycle to and from whenever possible
Avoid the elevator and use the stairs instead
Choose to take a brief walk at some point during the working day
If you’re working from home, take advantage of the opportunity to garden, walk up and down the stairs a few times or play with your pets during your breaks - all can help you to stay active.
2. Identify your stressors
Stress can be the biggest challenge when it comes to caring for your wellness. If you can find effective ways to keep stress at bay, half the job is done.
Consider taking the time to reflect on your biggest stressors, whether it’s managing your workload, social media posting or dealing with staff issues. Of course, these types of obligations come hand in hand with being an entrepreneur. Though wherever possible, try to mitigate your biggest stressors, and look at how they can be managed. A key way to do this is to get enough sleep.
Have you heard about the ‘Inumeri Phenomenon’? This is the Japanese art of falling asleep at work, and the world commonly knows it as the concept of power naps. So, if you feel you did not sleep enough last night, try taking a bit of time out during the day and reward yourself with a power nap. In fact, in the present-day remote working trend, taking short power naps could be an ideal way to deal with technostress.
3. Make healthy food choices
Your eating habits play a significant role in determining your wellness. With this in mind, eating nutritious and healthy food will go a long way in keeping your heart healthy. To achieve a well-balanced and nutritious diet, consider reducing your fat intake. It is recommended that your daily intake of saturated fat must not be more than 7% of your calories.
Furthermore, the American Heart Association recommends small servings of nuts every day to mitigate the risk of heart diseases as they are packed full of heart-healthy fats and proteins. To encourage healthy eating habits, try placing a jar of nuts on your work desk. This way, you will not have to remind yourself to make healthy choices. Other foods that are good for the heart include avocados, berries, leafy greens, whole grains, and even dark chocolates!
4. Keep track of your fitness
The more technology progresses, the more it appears in different aspects of our lives. How difficult would it have been for businesses to function and be sustainable in the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, without state-of-the-art technological innovations?
Technology even enhances our fitness now, with smartphones and watches tracking our exercise, step count and other important health indicators including heart rate. The best part is, most of these applications are free on iOS and Android. These brilliant smartphone applications for heart rate tracking are helping people immensely to supervise their heart health effectively.
5. Make time for your hobbies
Finding time for hobbies can feel difficult for entrepreneurs. However, even top businessmen in the public eye have often talked about the importance of making time for hobbies. For example, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has admitted to keeping his Saturdays for hiking.
Leisure and recreational activities are key to helping you manage stress and productivity, while simultaneously enhancing your happiness. Feeling happy and reducing stress are crucial to a healthy heart.
Achieve your dreams by focusing on your wellbeing
Remember, your biggest asset in life is your wellness and when you feel good about your health, your work will reflect that. Make sure you are taking time out to enhance your health and wellbeing - whether you are working from home or from an office, your health is priceless.
Look after your heart, and your heart will take care of your passions and dreams.
Jessica Robinson loves to write interesting and knowledgeable blogs regarding business management, education and lifestyle to satiate the curiosity of her lovely readers. Currently, she is serving as a Content Manager at the ‘Speaking Polymath’. Every piece of content that she writes demonstrates her immense love and passion for her profession.