Mindfulness for a Healthy Heart

You may have heard that mindfulness is good for your mental well-being, but did you know that this practice can also benefit your heart?

Mindfulness is commonly defined as noticing what is happening in the present moment without judgment. An example of practicing mindfulness in daily life can be a simple check-in during a hectic moment. You might ask yourself, "What is happening in my body right now?" and realize that you are holding your breath a bit, tensing your shoulders, or feeling nauseous.

Mindfulness does not require that you force yourself to change any of these feelings, simply that you become aware of them. Often, the simple act of recognizing them causes your body to adjust on its own. For example, just by recognizing the symptoms of stress, your body may inadvertently relax the shoulders and take a deep, relaxing breath. You are now better able to handle the situation calmly. That is mindfulness in action.

All of that is well and good in moments of stress, you say, but how can mindfulness improve my long-term heart health? The answer is two-fold. First, reducing chronic stress, in turn, reduces the strain that stress puts on your heart. Second, mindful living causes you to be more present in all of your decisions, including what and how you choose to eat. And healthy eating leads to a healthier heart.

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction

While researchers have studied different types of mindfulness programs for a variety of health conditions, mindfulness has been shown to reduce excess stress, something that can negatively impact our overall physical health.

As noted by The American Heart Association (n.d.), ongoing high stress can increase inflammation, high blood pressure, and irregularities in heart rhythm. So, it follows that when you can manage your stress—which mindfulness helps with— you may also be supporting your heart health.

If You Have Heart Disease

But what if you are already at risk? How can mindfulness help when you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease? Here, again, research shows that mindfulness can be a benefit. Li et al. (2024) examined the overall evidence for mindfulness in patients with coronary heart disease. The researchers found that mindfulness interventions significantly improved sleep quality, stress levels, and systolic blood pressure for patients. While results were inconclusive for other measures of heart health, mindfulness did make a positive impact, specifically on reducing blood pressure.

Additionally, people with heart-related health concerns frequently experience ongoing chronic stress because of their condition(s). As with any stressor, a mindful response provides an opportunity to pause, notice negative thoughts and emotions without judgment, and take a breath. Just as your condition shouldn't define you, it also shouldn't consume your thoughts. Here, again, mindfulness can make a difference.

Eating Mindfully

Another way you can use mindfulness in a heart-healthy lifestyle is by eating with purpose. When you stop to savor the taste of your food and when you pay attention to internal cues of hunger and fullness, you are eating in a mindful way. This, in turn, can lead to better weight management, which can reduce your cardiovascular risk factors.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet has already been proven to prevent and reduce high blood pressure. But what happens when people practice mindfulness and follow the DASH diet? Are the results even more effective?

Researchers have been working to answer that question for the past couple of years. Loucks et al. (2023) shared ways that mindfulness might help people stick to the DASH eating plan and lower their blood pressure. An issue that sometimes arises with the DASH diet (and others, for that matter) is that people can get bored or frustrated with their results. Additionally, moments of high stress can cause people to stray from their eating plan and begin to "stress-eat." Loucks et al. suggest that when you pay attention to how you feel emotionally, you can better cope with these feelings and be less likely to reach for cookies or potato chips to soothe yourself.

So, did it work? The team concluded that a combination of the DASH diet and mindful eating practices may, in fact, improve eating patterns.

A Short Mindfulness Practice

One of the best things about mindfulness is that you can try it anywhere, anytime, without special equipment. There are a variety of online guided mindfulness meditations and apps if you prefer to have someone lead you. Or simply check in with yourself right now, wherever you are.

Here is an example of how to take a quick mindfulness moment.

First, find a quiet place to sit and begin to calm your mind.

Then, take stock of the sensations in specific parts of your body. For example, Today, in a sitting position, starting with my feet, I notice they are off-center and at awkward angles, and they will feel more grounded if I place them flat on the floor. Moving up my legs, I feel areas of tension that I can adjust by sitting a little more upright. This change supports a tall spine and helps me breathe more fully. I observe how my shoulders lift with each inhale and fall gently with each exhale. My mind centers on the area around my heart that moves with each breath, and I follow this pattern for 10 complete breaths.

In just a few minutes, you will likely feel more relaxed and calm.

Tip: Consider doing something like this the next time you are at a healthcare appointment, especially when you are waiting for them to check your blood pressure. If these are moments of stress for you, this can help ensure a reading that is more accurate to your actual number.

Final Thoughts

Is mindfulness a silver bullet for everything that ails you? Of course not. But can it be beneficial to your health, in particular, your heart health? Research and common sense seem to indicate that incorporating mindfulness into your regular health routine can absolutely lead to a healthier you.

References

American Heart Association. (n.d.). Stress and heart health. 

Li, W., Liao, X., Geng, D., Yang, J., Chen, H., Hu, S., & Dai, M. (2024). Mindfulness therapy for patients with coronary heart disease: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 30(6), e13276. 

Loucks, E. B., Kronish, I. M., Saadeh, F. B., Scarpaci, M. M., Proulx, J. A., Gutman, R., Willoughby, B.B., & Schuman-Olivier, Z. (2023). Adapted mindfulness training for interoception and adherence to the DASH diet: A phase 2 randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 6(11), e2339243-e2339243.