How to Recharge Your Emotional and Physical Self

With every new year comes new resolve: quit smoking, lose weight or get a new job. Instead of overwhelming yourself with "goals" such as a 50-pound weight loss, follow these suggestions to be happier and healthier, both emotionally and physically.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Let go of grudges. Recent studies show that frequent conflict in any close relationships (spouse, siblings, parents, co-workers) can increase a woman's risk of a heart attack by up to 34 percent. According to Tim Smith, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, "The evidence that bad relationships and negative emotions affect the heart just continues to mount. The more frequent, the more extreme and the more long-lasting these feelings are--the worse it is for your health." Sounds like a great reason to let bygones be bygones.
2. Stop worrying about everything. Researchers have long known that chornic job stress may hurt your heart, but they've now added anxiety and worry (even over everyday things like cleaning your house) to cardiovascular trouble. "Anxiety and negative emotions increase blood pressure and cholesterol, and trigger the release of stress hormones," says Dr. Smith. Experts agree that this kind of stress may be more common among women than men, and women do little to counteract it. Stress and anxiety can contribute to making your heart sick.
3. Move a little more every day. Even if you are at a healthy weight, not exercising is just bad for your physical and emotional health. In fact, a lack of physical activity has been added to the list of major risk factors in the new guidelines from the American Heart Association, right up there with smoking and eating a high-fat diet.
   
   Experts now know that in addition to strengthening your heart and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, exercise can actually diminish or reverse other damage, such as burn up stress hormones before they can hurt your arteries and even slightly reduce the negative effects of smoking--in short, exercise just makes your body (and heart) work better.