At Superior Foot & Ankle Care Center, we support a whole-body approach to foot health. February is American Heart Month. Part of keeping your heart healthy is eating correctly to maintain a healthy weight and staying active. Your feet play a key role in an active lifestyle. But, if the rest of your body isn’t being properly cared for, your feet can’t do it on their own. Below are areas that need your attention to in order to have good heart, foot, and overall body health.

Stress Busting—negative stress not managed correctly can lead to a lack of motivation and caring about our health. It’s easy to throw aside your exercise program because you’re in a bad mood or sad. Cultivate tools that can help you reduce stress and get you back on track:

• Practice positive self-talk. If you stop and listen, we’re talking to ourselves all the time in our heads. When stressful things occur, you can start to change your outlook by changing your self-talk. Instead of “I can’t believe this is happening,” try “Okay, I can handle this. The first step is…” or “There’s no way I can do this,” change to “Where can I find help with this issue?”
• When stressful situations hit, put some space between yourself and the situation. Take a walk, spend some time with a pet or even count to 10 and do some deep breathing exercises to help you get under control.
• Cultivate ongoing stress-reducing activities such as hobbies, prayer, getting together with friends, reading, home improvement or gardening project.

Sleep it Off—not getting enough sleep (and enough is defined as 7-9 hours a night) can negatively impact your mood, eating habits, mental sharpness, physical functioning and more. Try some of these tips for a better night’s sleep:

• Set your cell phone on silent or do not disturb and don’t keep it close to your bed. Falling asleep to your Facebook feed is not restful.
• If you like to fall asleep while watching television, make sure you set it on a timer to go off. Studies show that sleep is less deep when a flashing screen plays all night in your room.
• Take time to wind down before bed. A cup of decaffeinated tea, warm shower or bath, and some light reading are all excellent ways to relax and prepare for sleep. Establishing a routine before bed helps signal your body it’s sleep time.

Your feet work in conjunction with your heart and the rest of your body to achieve good health. If you have concerns about your feet, make an appointment to see one of our podiatrists, Dr. Victoria Foley or Dr. Constance Ornelas, at our Long Beach office by calling: (562) 420-9800.