Heart. Health. Habits.

Written by Medibank
January 2024

How do you get there? One way is to prioritise the health of your heart. This holds true for Australia where cardiovascular disease (CVD) affects more than 4 million Australians and causes 1 in 4 deaths.¹ But, as we’ve learnt from this Heart Wise Challenge, many of the risk factors for heart disease are preventable – and well within our control – through healthy lifestyle choices.

Now that we have all the information we need from the previous four articles, let’s see how we can put it together and make healthy behaviours a habit.
 

Make heart health a habit

Healthy habits are important for overall wellbeing. Building healthy habits are important for overall wellbeing. When you make once-off actions a regular part of your daily activity, they become easier to do and stick with in the long-term.² Behaviours like exercising often, eating well, not smoking, managing your stress and prioritising your mental wellbeing can all become a new way of life; and they are all great for heart health!³ 
 

"When implementing new habits it’s important to just make a start. Don’t set yourself up to fail with unachievable goals- start with small changes and continue to refine and improve on them and before you know it the habits will become part of your daily routine." 
Quote from care coordinator for Medibank’s Heart Health at Home program - Judith Kendrick. 

Ready for our top three habit-formation tips? Read on.
 

1. Be intentional

No one has ever just woken up and spontaneously achieved greatness. Good things, the things that are really worth it, take time and need a plan. Set specific goals that you can measure yourself against (and write them down!), track your progress and tweak things as you go along – you know your mind and body best.⁴

If your end goal is to complete a parkrun, write it down and choose a date. That’s the first step done. Now plan your training sessions of 3 times a week – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during your lunchbreak – for just 20 minutes at a time. As you feel stronger and more confident, increase the number of times you walk, the amount of time you walk for or the speed you walk at. If you need a little extra nudge, schedule these walks in your calendar – a little appointment with yourself – or better yet, make it a date with a friend or family member for some extra accountability. Having support from others can help you remain motivated and achieve your goals.⁵
 

2. Be realistic

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is your ideal lifestyle. Time is a key component to build habits and it’s the small but repeated actions that make all the difference. Your goals also need to be relevant and achievable to you,⁶ they need to fit into your lifestyle and focus on what you find fun and enjoyable (an often-overlooked part of forming habits).

You’ve never meditated before but it comes highly recommended so you decide to give it a go. You practice for 15 minutes each day, early, before the rest of the house wakes up, but it’s just not working. Often you end up feeling more anxious than when you started, plus, you’re not a morning person. Pivot! Try and test another technique. Maybe that’s journaling in bed at the end of the day before you fall asleep or practicing a deep breathing routine whenever you feel overwhelmed. Find something, or a few things, that suit you and then stick to them until you feel ready for something else.
 

3. Be kind

No one is perfect. On this journey to a happier, healthier you there will be ups and downs. Some days you’ll shoot the lights out and be proud – celebrate those moments. Other days you may drop the ball and be disappointed – forgive yourself and keep moving forward. This doesn’t mean you allow yourself to make excuse after excuse, but having one bad day is just that. Take a moment to breathe and then get back on track.

You’ve started a heart-healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, fish, healthy fats and wholegrains. Your fridge is full to the brim with these foods and you’re feeling great, both mentally and physically. You’ve even mastered portion control. But then, oh no, you have a terrible day at work and end up getting a takeaway pizza for dinner on your way home – definitely not part of your new nutrition plan. That’s okay. Going off-track is perfectly normal and sometimes needed! Just remember to reset and start fresh in the morning with a healthy breakfast.

Your heart beats around 2.5 billion times over the course of your lifetime,⁷ without rest, making it the hardest working muscle in the body. How remarkable! Help keep your heart healthy by turning these healthy lifestyle choices into habits – your future self will thank you.