Drinking Tea Could Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

When it comes to improving your heart health, some of the changes you can make seem obvious. Eat a healthier diet, with a focus on lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, lots of fresh fruits, and vegetables. Cook as much of your food as you can, staying away from processed foods which can contain unhealthy amounts of added sodium, sugar, and fat. Move more, both with exercise, and as a general part of your day.

But there are some things that are less obvious, or at least less easily addressed. Getting more sleep and reducing stress go hand in hand. If you are stressed, it can impact your sleep; if you aren't sleeping, it can reduce your ability to effectively manage stress. Finding ways of bringing calm and soothing energy into your life can be difficult, and never more than right now, but it can pay off in dividends of extra hours of sleep and improved health.

So while you may not be able to manage your sleep shortage right now, there is a simple thing you can do to positively impact your stress levels — to add a teatime or two to your day.

I'm not talking about a Downton Abbey teatime with scones and crumpets. Rather, I'm speaking of a brief break in your day that refocuses your mind and helps with stress levels, while increasing your tea consumption.

Drinking tea has been shown in studies to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke by 10 to 20 percent. In a recent report from the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, people who had at least three cups of tea each week had a 20 percent lower risk of a cardiovascular event (that is, heart attack and stroke) than people who never drank that much tea in a week. Those same avid tea drinkers were 22 percent less likely to die of a cardiovascular health issue, and they were 15 percent less likely to die a premature death because of a heart-related health issue.

And while all four varieties of tea — black, green, white, and oolong — have been shown to have positive healthy benefits, green and black are the real powerhouses, and the recommended intake is two or more cups per day.

For me, adding teatime to my daily routine has been a great way to break up my workday and settle my jangled nerves. I take two breaks per day, one in the late morning between 10:30 and 11:30, and another mid-afternoon between 3 and 4. These tend to be hours when I can grab a fifteen-minute pause.

It takes about five minutes for the water to boil, five to steep, and then five to begin to sip and savor. I drink black tea in the morning and green tea in the afternoon, since green tea is lower in caffeine, and I don't want to have too much caffeine late in the day.

While the water is working, I stretch a bit, or walk around, just to loosen my joints and uncrick my computer hunch. Or I might play a song or two on my Echo and do some solo kitchen dancing.

While the tea is steeping in the morning, I might have a small snack, some cheese, or other protein to tide me over until my next meal. In the afternoon, I might indulge in a cookie or a square of dark chocolate. The important thing is that in this small break I try and move around a bit and do not look at my phone or computer.

The point of these breaks is to take your focus from outward, work and the news and other stressors, and point in inward on your body and brain. If you mediate, find a five-minute mediation to use during the water boiling or steeping; if you don't, think about a five-minute deep breathing exercise or guided breathing with an app. If you have trouble settling your brain, try playing a podcast or music to distract you.

In the beginning, I would set alarms on my phone for 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to remind me to take my tea breaks, but now it is second nature. And even when I am mired in work, my body seems to naturally remind me that it is time for my breather.

As with any new thing, it can take a while for it to become a habit, or to see any noticeable benefits, so I recommend committing to a two-week daily practice to see if it works for you.

Finding teas that you love is especially important. I like a classic English Breakfast or Earl Grey in the morning, and a citrusy green in the afternoons. Note that the health benefits of the tea itself relies on actual teas, so while herbals are great for de-stressing, look for green, black, white, or oolong for the added healthful properties.

Related:

• 10 Best Teas for Sore Throats
• Browse our collection of Hot Tea Recipes.