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The scariest thing about strokes is that you never know when or if they’re going to happen. Thankfully, there are a lot of things that you can do now to reduce the risk of having a stroke later in life, and they all cost little to no money to incorporate into your daily life. Here are a few of those ways.
Lose Weight
While it may be one of the most common advice people give, it’s also one of the most important. Ultimately, the goal is to get your body mass index at 24 or lower. Changing up your diet is the quickest and easiest way to drop some weight. Avoid saturated and trans fat, substitute any soda that you drink with water, and limit your caloric intake to 1,500 or 2,000, depending on how active you are.
Exercise
It was your New Years Resolution to exercise more often, right? It was probably your New Years Resolution last year, as well as the year before. Stop procrastinating and just do it. You need to exercise at least five days a week. It’s extremely easy to do. Start small by walking around your neighborhood in the morning or evening. When you arrive at work, avoid the elevator and take the stairs. It’s probably better to break up your exercises throughout the day when you’re just starting out, and once you’re used to exercising, switch it up and do one or two solid sessions. In combination with changing your diet, exercising will dramatically reduce your risk of having a stroke.
Quit Smoking
You know how your other resolution was to either reduce your amount of smoking or stop altogether? It’s time to get started on that and drop the habit altogether. Smoking dramatically increases your chance of having a heart attack or a stroke. Giving up the smokes will result in a longer life, not to mention the extra cash in your wallet. If you need someone to help you fight those cravings, place your trust in a loyal friend who can support you in your cause. You can use several methods to quit smoking, such as nicotine pills or patches.
Lower Your Cholesterol
One of the biggest risk factors in having a stroke is having a high blood pressure. You should strive to have a 120/80 blood pressure, and changing your diet can help big time. In combination with exercising and smoking, you should avoid high-cholesterol foods like ice cream and cheese. You should also try to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and fish one or two times a week. You should also have low-fat dairy and whole grains each day.
Take a Daily Aspirin
You may have heard that you should take a daily aspirin each day, and it’s true—however, you should take a baby aspirin. Aspirin is a blood thinner, so it helps prevent the formation of blood clots. Each day you should take a baby aspirin. Before doing so, though, have a conversation about it with your doctor. If you’re at a higher risk of a heart attack or stroke, your doctor might put you on something like Clopidogrel. Fortunately, you can buy Clopidogrel online, so you won’t have to worry about going out just to pick up your prescription.
Drink in Moderation
Drinking alcohol in excess is never a good thing, but a drink every now and then isn’t so bad. Drinking in moderation lowers cholesterol and reduces fibrinogen, which plays a key role in the production of blood clots. You can drink a glass of wine if you like, but don’t mix alcohol and wine—that’s always a bad idea.
Sleep Longer
Remember when you were younger and you used to hate going to sleep? Do you ever wish you could go back, slap your younger self, and sleep all you can? Now’s the time to catch up on that missed sleep. One study found that sleeping more than seven hours lowered the risk of heart disease. Don’t go over nine hours, though, as that has the same effects of getting seven hours or less of sleep.
It’s extremely important that you do what you can to lower your risk of having a stroke, and these seven ways will do just that. How do you plan to change your life?
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