Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health. It helps you sleep better, boosts your mental health, strengthens your heart and lowers your risk of falling ill.
Yet according to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four adults worldwide doesn’t get enough exercise. At FibriCheck, we want to motivate you to exercise a bit more. In this article, we’ll set out some practical tips that can help you with that.
How often should you exercise?
Exercise is good for you, and even just a little bit of exercise works wonders to improve your heart health. So what is meant by ‘regular exercise’?
The World Health Organization recommends 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise (e.g. running or swimming) or 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week (e.g. walking or cycling). Which translates to about 10 minutes of high intensity exercise per day or less than half an hour moderate exercise.
The 7 benefits of getting more exercise
1. Reduces your blood pressure
High blood pressure is among the biggest risk factors for developing atrial fibrillation or other types of heart disease. Over time, exercising on a regular basis drives down your heart rate and reduces your blood pressure.
2. Reduces stress
Stress hormones put pressure on your heart, as your heart muscle needs more oxygen. Severe stress may also cause heart rhythm disorders, especially if you are already genetically predisposed. By exercising (running, weight lifting, yoga, etc.) you are enabling your body to relax, which means the stress subsides.
3. Builds up your muscles
The more often you exercise, the more oxygen your muscles extract from your blood. This ensures that your heart – which itself is a muscle – will need to put in less effort to push the blood to your muscles.
4. Keeps your weight in check
Getting regular exercise also means you start losing weight whilst simultaneously ensuring you do not pile the pounds back on again. Which is good news for your heart, as being overweight is another key risk factor for heart disease.
5. Lower risk of diabetes
If you are combining activities like cycling, walks or swimming with strength training, you are reducing the risk of getting diabetes by as much as 50%. This is because your muscles find it much easier to process glycogen when you are doing exercise. Glycogen is the term for glucose and carbohydrates your body has stored, in order to convert it back into glucose later on when your body needs energy. If glycogen is not broken down in your body, it may result in high blood sugar levels, and ultimately possibly even in diabetes.
6. Helps you stop smoking
Research shows that smokers who get regular exercise stand a better chance of quitting smoking. Which is a good thing, as smoking is yet another major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
7. Reduces inflammation
Chronic inflammation plays an important part in the ageing process of your cells and is linked to a wide range of cardiovascular diseases.
Tips for a proper work-out
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Use any excuse to get up from your chair. One of the biggest risks for your heart is a sedentary lifestyle. As explained, ideally you would need to get 150 minutes of exercise each week. Sounds a little overwhelming? In that case, why not start out with small steps. Any exercise is better than no exercise. Try taking the stairs instead of using the lift or park your car a little further down the road so you get to walk a bit more.
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Seek out activities you enjoy. Alternate different activities to find out what you enjoy most. Go running, cycling, dancing, take up yoga. If something does not do it for you, that is not a problem. There are plenty of activities to choose from. In doing so, you make sure exercise becomes and remains a fun part of your week.
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Combine different work-outs to achieve better results. The best way to improve your heart health is by combining some strength training (weight lifting, resistance training) with aerobic exercises such as walking, running, cycling or swimming.
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Remember: getting started is the difficult part. It takes some time before we incorporate new habits, so it’s all about persistence. Your body will thank you for it!
What if I have a heart rhythm condition?
Exercise is good for you, even if you have a heart rhythm disorder. Although we would advise you to discuss exercise with your treating physician first and to take things easy if you have atrial fibrillation or another heart rhythm disorder.
The best thing to do is to start out with a relaxed activity that does not send your heart rate sky-rocketing in the first few minutes. If you are experiencing palpitations, dizziness, lightheadedness or chest pains, then take things a little easier and discuss matters with your doctor.
FibriCheck is here to give you more insights into your heart health. We do advise waiting for 15 minutes after you have finished exercising before performing a measurement. This way, your heart rate is able to come down again to your regular heart rate at rest after the effort you just put in.
References:
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Guthold R, et al. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1·9 million participants. The Lancet. 2018, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30357-7.
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Ramakrishnan R, et al, Accelerometer measured physical activity and the incidence of cardiovascular disease: Evidence from the UK Biobank cohort study, 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003487.
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7 Heart benefits of exercise. Consulted on https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/7-heart-benefits-of-exercise.
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Keyworth H et al, Wheel running during chronic nicotine exposure is protective against mecamylamine-precipitated withdrawal and upregulates hippocampal α7 nACh receptors in mice. British Journal of Pharmacology, 2017; DOI: 10.1111/bph.14068.
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Zheng G, et al, Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Inflammatory Markers in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials, Front. Aging Neurosci, 2019, DOI: ttps://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2019.00098.
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Morris JN, Crawford MD. Coronary heart disease and physical activity of work; evidence of a national necropsy survey. Br Med J. 1958 Dec 20;2(5111):1485-96. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5111.1485. PMID: 13608027; PMCID: PMC2027542.
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3 Kinds of Exercise That Boost Heart Health. Consulted on https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/3-kinds-of-exercise-that-boost-heart-health.