Transcription:
Reduce Stress to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Melanie Cole (Host): Stress can affect you in many different ways. Some stresses actually might affect you in positive ways. However, if you have negative stress, it can contribute to heart disease and put you at risk for serious health issues. My guest today is Bobbie Clench. She's a cardiovascular registered nurse at Bryan Health. Welcome to the show, Bobbie. So, stress does affect each of us differently. How does negative stress affect us, generally? Tell us about negative stress and what it's doing to us?

Bobbie Clench (Guest): Hi, Melanie. Thank you for having me today. And, yes, stress can have a negative effect on us. Typically, we all have stress. It's a normal part of living. It probably goes back to the times that we had to hunt for our food and survive in the wild and we get that additional adrenaline to help us stay safe and escape dangers and be able to survive in the wild, and we needed that additional adrenaline to help us stay safe and escape dangers and be able to survive. When left unmanaged, that stress today can lead to emotional and physical problems and one of these can be heart disease.

Melanie: So, how do we know if stress is starting to affect us and are stressors the same because some stress is losing a spouse or a loved one, losing a job, or just the everyday stressors that I have a big pile of laundry that I have to get done? Are all these stressors kind of the same and how do we know that they are affecting us?

Bobbie: Well, typically, we all handle stress differently. So, stressors can be broken down into how we handle them. Some people can let things go very easily, handle them with a grain of salt, not let them bother them at all. Other people internalize that stress. It becomes a chronic stress to us, and over time, that chronic stress is what really takes its toll on our health. Catastrophic stress, a sudden onset of the loss of a loved one, severe bad news, things like that--those can lead to even a bigger heart problem.

Melanie: Are there some warning signs, some red flags, you'd like listeners to identify that stress is starting to affect them in a negative way?

Bobbie: Sometimes, we feel our heart racing or have difficulty focusing on day-to-day tasks. We tend to eat more. Some people turn to drinking to help relieve that stress. You know, identifying those things: "Why am I sleeping more or sleeping less? How is my health or my day-to-day activity changing because I'm not dealing with this constant stress that I have?" Like I said, sleep, heart rates, eating--eating more or eating less--all of those things can be signs that something is going on. The inability to do the things that you really love to do. Very similar to signs of depression. You're just not able to do the things you want to do because you have this chronic layer of stress that you're not able to work through.

Melanie: That's a great point, that they can be similar in the red flags and symptoms. So, now, what do you tell people as a cardiovascular registered nurse about coping with these stresses, whether they're intense stress, or whether they're just everyday stressors, what can we do, Bobbie?

Bobbie: Great question, Melanie. There are so many things that we can do. First is, like you said, identifying that we have that stress. And, if you do have that stress, the number one thing, and that's the thing I tell people over and over, is exercise. Exercise is really the best medicine for any heart risk that we have. If we would just get out and take those nice walks, get a little cardiovascular exercise, increasing that heart rate at least once a day, hopefully for 30 minutes, that is the best thing to do for all stressors and the best thing to do for overall heart health. Not smoking. Smoking can increase your stress level. Caffeine use--sometimes we have excessive caffeine use which can increase our stress levels. Healthy diet and leading to healthy weight can also help our stress levels. Medicines typically don't help with stress. They're a very temporary fix. So, getting to the bottom of the stress and then working on that. Positive self talk. That's a great way to relieve stress, opposed to talking or of a negative thought, not being able to do something. Saying, "Yes, I can do this." Counting to 10 before you speak or react to a situation. That can help decrease your stress. Finding things that you love to do. Hobbies or reading or things that bring you happiness throughout the day--those are great ways to keep your stress at bay. And then, lastly, finding daily relaxation such as meditation or yoga, Tai Chi, even just deep breathing--finding some quiet time for yourself from this busy world. Those are all great ways to help alleviate and keep that stress level down.

Melanie: So, these are all great bits of advice, really great tips. Now, where does sleep fit in? Some people think, "Oh, I've got to get all this done. I can't go to sleep." We've got all these electronics going until late in the night and then we don't get a good night sleep and that can affect our ability to cope the next day with what we do have to do.

Bobbie: Absolutely. Good sleep is such a good way to help alleviate stress. When you're well-rested, you think more clearly, things don't bother you as much. You're sharper. You're able to handle the day-to-day things that come at you. Lack of sleep can lead to a lot of heart issues. Sometimes, people have sleep apnea. They think they're sleeping well and they actually are not. So, that is a whole other subject but sleep apnea, if you feel like you're not rested when you wake up, then that is the great thing to get checked as well to help improve your heart health. But, yes, either too much sleep could be a signal that something's going on with you as far as your stress level and not getting enough sleep can definitely have an adverse affect on your day-to-day stress maintenance.

Melanie: You mentioned speaking to ourselves in a more positive way. Because, especially as women, Bobbie, we tell ourselves negative self-talk all the time. We look in the mirror and we say "Ugh, God, I'm so fat," or "Where did these wrinkles come from?" and that can increase our stress as well. How can we keep that positive attitude and stop all the negative self-talk?

Bobbie: Great, great point, Melanie. Positive self-talk is a wonderful way to keep ourselves going in a positive way throughout the day. I think that social media is really helping with that now. There's a lot of--I know Ashley Graham is putting out this self-positive body imaging--and just telling yourself every day you are important, you matter, and recognizing the small things each day that you've accomplished, even that you may not be moving mountains every day, but you may be making it to work on time, you may be having a positive relationship with your family, friends, and that's another thing; spending quality time with people that you enjoy is a great stress relief. So, keeping that positive talk is so important. We get bogged down when the mind is always in the clouds and not wanting to do, telling us that we can accomplish things throughout the day.

Melanie: Where does nutrition fit into this picture of helping us to reduce our stress? Because, as you mentioned, sometimes eating a lot or not eating at all can be a sign that stress is starting to get to you. So, people look to comfort foods, they look to high fat foods. What do you want to tell us about using nutrition as a way to kind of calm those nerves?

Bobbie: Nutrition does play a huge role. You can eat too much caffeine, too many sweets. The sugar increases the anxiety or your tendencies. You know, all of those eating habits that are not healthy. You know, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the Mediterranean diet that keeps your weight down, helps keep your body self-image better and just the healthiness of the foods that we eat can keep our bodies healthier and our hearts healthier.

Melanie: So, Bobbie, give us your best advice with stress and its relationship to heart disease and especially for women, how we can reduce that stress and what you would like listeners to know about the importance of recognizing those signs and taking positive steps?

Bobbie: Thanks, Melanie, and, yes, absolutely. Positive self-talk, exercise, all of these things help keep our bodies healthy and our minds healthy and all of those things decrease the stress level in our bodies. Keeping that stress level low and keeping the blood pressure down helps keep the bad habits that we have with increased stress levels down--all of these things, those risk factors, contribute to our overall health and keeping our hearts healthy.

Melanie: If you're concerned about your heart health, take our free, quick, and confidential heart aware online screening at www.bryanhealth.org/heartaware. That's www.bryanhealth.org/heartaware. Thank you, Bobbie, so much for joining us today and thank you to the women of Alpha Phi for funding this special heart healthy podcast. You're listening to Bryan Health Radio. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.