6 Hidden Habits That Harm Your Heart

The heart is not just a symbol of love, but a muscle that works nonstop – every day it pumps about 7,000 liters of blood and makes around 100,000 beats. That’s why it’s wise to listen to it – and take care of it even when it doesn’t hurt.

From experience in folk medicine and after monitoring numerous studies, we’ve found that there are some everyday habits so common that we don’t even realize they’re harmful. Interestingly, most of these don’t involve food, but lifestyle choices. Let us explain them to you, just as an herbalist would while you sip a cup of lemon balm tea.

• When One Glass of Alcohol Is No Longer Just One...
  You may have already heard that red wine is supposed to be good for your heart. And it’s true – it contains resveratrol, an antioxidant from grape skins thought to protect blood vessels. But let’s look at the numbers: a Harvard study showed that moderate drinking means at most 1 glass of wine per day for women and 2 for men – that’s not five glasses every Friday evening.
  
  When the amount of alcohol exceeds that limit, it starts to act as a toxin. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), excessive alcohol use contributes to 7% of all deaths from cardiovascular diseases each year. Additionally, alcohol is packed with empty calories – half a liter of beer has about 200 calories, which can quickly lead to excess weight, a known enemy of the heart.
  
  Alcohol also disrupts the body’s natural rhythm, especially sleep. If we sleep poorly, the heart doesn’t get time to regenerate. The body is under stress, leading to high blood pressure – a silent killer that affects about 45% of Slovenians over the age of 45.
  
  And another thing – alcohol impairs judgement. Under the influence, we drink more, eat unhealthy foods, and often forget about exercise. This is how the vicious cycle begins.
  
  
• Exercise? Yes. But Use Your Head, Not Your Ego
  Physical activity is one of the best medicines we know. In folk medicine, we often say that walking is the cheapest doctor – no referral or waiting list required. But as with anything, the golden rule is moderation.
  
  When someone starts training twice a day, every day, with no rest, the body can’t keep up anymore. The heart begins to beat at an accelerated rhythm that isn’t natural. In a study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers found that extreme athletes can develop arrhythmias – irregular heart rhythms – and in some cases even enlargement of the heart’s ventricles, which weakens the heart over time.
  
  If you’re not a professional athlete with a team of doctors and physiotherapists behind you, overdoing it with exercise is more harmful than beneficial. Your body needs to recover. Endorphins, the “happiness hormones” released after exercise, get depleted with overexertion – and instead of satisfaction, you get irritability, insomnia, and exhaustion.
  
  Move every day if possible. But listen to your body, not your running watch.
  
  
• Can You Catch Up on Sleep? Not Going to Happen
  Many of us sleep 5–6 hours a night during the week, then tell ourselves: I’ll catch up on Saturday. Unfortunately, the body doesn’t work like a bank where you can withdraw and deposit hours of sleep. Sleep has its own rhythm, called the circadian rhythm – the natural biological schedule driven mainly by light, especially sunlight.
  
  If this rhythm is disrupted, a real hormonal storm happens in the body. Cortisol (the stress hormone) increases, insulin no longer works optimally, appetite rises. Because of all this, body weight and blood pressure increase, putting strain on the heart.
  
  A study from the University of Chicago showed that just three nights with only four hours of sleep lead to a 20% increase in blood pressure and a 30% higher level of ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite. Sleep deprivation even affects brain size – especially the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory.
  
  Our grandmothers used to say: “You should go to bed with the chickens and get up with the rooster.” And now we know they weren’t far from the truth.
  
  
• Counting Calories as a New Religion? Be Careful
  In recent years, counting calories has become almost an obsession. There are apps, scales, even smart forks that count how many calories you eat. But numbers aren’t everything.
  
  Low-calorie foods are often full of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and additives that aren’t natural for the body. For example, sugar-free soda may have 0 calories but contains aspartame, a sweetener that some studies link to a higher risk of stroke.
  
  In addition, constantly counting calories triggers stress. And stress is one of the main factors for heart disease – it causes blood vessels to constrict, increases heart rate, and raises blood pressure. A study published in the British Medical Journal shows that chronic stress doubles the risk of coronary heart disease.
  
  Your diet should be varied, wholesome, and colorful. Listen to your body – don’t count every single nut.
  
  
• Loneliness Isn’t Just a Feeling – It’s a Disease
  We are social beings. Even though we live in a digital age where with one click we can ‘like’ a friend, it’s not the same as a hug, laughter, or sharing tea together. Prolonged loneliness causes physical changes in the body.
  
  The American Heart Association warns that people without social connections are exposed to a 29% higher risk for heart attack and a 32% higher chance of stroke. Why? Because loneliness leads to chronic stress, a weaker immune system, and a greater likelihood of bad habits (smoking, lack of exercise, poor diet).
  
  In folk medicine, we know that happiness heals. Laughter releases endorphins, chatting strengthens the sense of belonging, and hugs release oxytocin – the bonding hormone. So make time to socialize, even if it’s just a short chat with a neighbor or friend.
  
  
• Multivitamins? Maybe Not So Miraculous
  Store shelves are overflowing with all kinds of tablets and capsules – multivitamins, omega-3, coenzyme Q10… But beware: not everything that comes in a capsule is beneficial.
  
  If you rely only on pills to “cover” yourself, you often end up neglecting real food. Yet real food contains substances no tablet can replace – fiber, enzymes, antioxidants. It’s no different when it comes to heart disease.
  
  A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that multivitamin supplements have no significant effect on reducing the risk of heart disease if your diet isn’t adequate. Additionally, too much of certain vitamins, like vitamin E or vitamin A, can even raise the risk of arrhythmias and bleeding.
  
  Natural sources of vitamins – like nettle, dandelion, rosehip, or chokeberry – have always been valued in folk medicine as true vitamins, because they contain a whole spectrum of substances that work in harmony.
  So, what should you do?
  
  You don’t have to give up everything. It’s not about never making a toast at a celebration or never enjoying unhealthy food now and then. The key is to listen to your body, take time to rest, surround yourself with people who matter to you, and consume as much living food as possible – the kind that isn’t from a box, but from the garden, the forest, or your home kitchen.
  
  Your heart will thank you. And we – wish that it beats long, calmly, and healthily.
  
  Information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.