All Things Heart Health with Dr. Wolfson (Part 3)
In this episode, hosts Dr. Nick Wilson and Dr. Traci Gross are joined once again by Dr. Jack Wolfson to discuss how sleep, stress, and fear are related to heart health.
These three factors are things that we all deal with each and every day—but do we really know how that stress is affecting your health?
The importance of sleep is nothing new to this podcast, but it is, as Dr. Jack Wolfson says, something that is frequently forgotten or shoved aside by modern medical practice. Dr. Jack also stresses that sleep is just as important a factor as diet, exercise, toxin exposure, and other major aspects of health.
In fact, people who fail to get healthy amounts of sleep may be at higher risk of heart attack, cancer, high cholesterol, and early mortality. In this day and age, we are always “go, go, go” as Dr. Jack says, trying to multitask and keep up with our hectic daily schedules, and as a result, sleep goes by the wayside.
One of the biggest issues? Using artificial light sources to interrupt our natural (asleep with sundown and awake with sunup) schedules. Historically, our ancestors followed the path of the sun to distinguish their sleep and waking patterns, and our bodies expect us to do the same! And yet, we use artificial lights to stay up later and wake up earlier.
And why are we doing this?
As a direct result of the culture of “mental taxation,” we are expected to prioritize careers and other projects and expectations over our own wellbeing. As Dr. Traci says, this has grown to the point where it is affecting our physical health.
Dr. Jack points out that we are likely more fearful and stressed than ever before today, with the onslaught of the last year in addition to what is now considered standard stressors. We spend our time glued to televisions and phone screens that increase our levels of stress and fear, and as a result, our mental health is declining, which causes our physical health to decline.
In addition, our lifestyles of office work, television, and screens have resulted in us spending minuscule amounts of time outside, which further diminishes our health. As Dr. Jack says, our skin is “like a solar panel” soaking up the sunshine and powering our bodies with vitamin D, which supports a healthy immune system and a healthy body. Our indoor focused lives of stress and “go, go, go,” therefore, are hurting is in more ways than one.
Sunlight and being in the outdoors have even been proven to help mental health and wellness!
Other aspects of life that are negatively affecting our lives include our jobs making us stressed or unhappy and our relationships making us stressed or unhappy. It can be frightening to look outside of the situation you find yourself in, but it is ultimately a choice between the stability of the unhappiness you live in currently and the possibility of something better that waits beyond.
It can be frightening to look outside of your current life, career, and relationships, but that fear could be holding you back from happiness and your mental and physical wellbeing. If your career, relationships, or other lifestyle decisions are making you unhealthy, you have the power to affect positive change!
In this episode, Dr. Jack goes into detail about the issues that face us every day, affecting both our heart health and our overall health. If you would like to learn more, make sure to tune in to this exciting concluding episode of our heart health series with Dr. Jack Wolfson.
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