Are You Ready for Love Day Spring Valley? 5 Simple Habits from IWC Primary Care to Help Protect Your Heart

February brings love to the forefront: love for family, love for community, love for the people who make life worth living. This month is also American Heart Month, a reminder that the heart you use to love others needs care, too. Not just when something feels wrong, but through steady maintenance that protects your energy and your future.

Let's get Love Day Ready, together.

At IWC Primary Care, we take a whole-person approach. We combine functional medicine, integrative care, and lifestyle-focused support to help patients understand what is happening in the body, reduce risk over time, and build routines that feel realistic. Heart health is not only about avoiding an emergency. It is about protecting your ability to show up fully for the life you are living.

Below are 5 simple habits that support heart health. Small steps, done consistently, can make a meaningful difference over time.

1. Sleep

Sleep is one of the most overlooked aspects of heart health. Consistent rest supports blood pressure, stress regulation, blood sugar balance, and recovery. One simple upgrade is to finish your last full meal about three to four hours before bedtime when possible.

Consistently and deeply resting is prioritizing your heart, yourself, and those you love.

This allows your body time to digest and support deeper rest and a steadier overnight rhythm. If you get hungry near bedtime, keep it light.

If sleep has been difficult, that is worth talking about. Sleep changes can connect to stress, hormones, breathing patterns, and overall health. Your primary care team can help you look at the bigger picture.

2. Eat, Color, Color, Color

A colorful plate helps with a healthy heart

Your plate should look like a box of crayons or colored pencils. When it does, you are usually eating in the right direction.

A colorful meal tends to bring more fiber, vitamins, and plant nutrients that support circulation, metabolism, and long-term heart health. Aim to build meals around vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, lean proteins, and heart-healthy fats. Remember to stay hydrated because that matters too. If you have been trying to improve your eating habits and keep getting stuck, bring that up in your visit. Heart health is personal, and the best plan is the one you can maintain.

3. Move Your Body

Movement supports mood and stress relief, which matters for the heart as much as it

Try new activities and discover what works best for you.

matters for the mind. A short walk after your last meal can support digestion and help steady your energy. It does not have to be a long walk,10-20 minutes at a comfortable pace. If you love to dance, roller skate, swim, ride bikes, or have been thinking about a self-defense class, do it! No one said moving your body had to be boring. Get out and explore different activities and remember to... stretch, stretch, stretch. Start small, stay consistent. Your heart will love you for it.

4. Journal, Pen to Pad

Put the Stress on the pad, not in your body. Schedule a Behavioral Health Appointment Today.

Put stress on the pad, not in your body. Journaling helps slow the mind, reduce mental clutter, and create space for clarity. Write down what you are carrying, then write down what you want. Writing your hopes and dreams does wonders. When you put vision on paper, you give your brain something healing to focus on, and that shift can support your mood, your sleep, and your heart. If anxiety, overwhelm, or burnout has been sitting in your body for a long time, you are not alone; your IWC team is here to help.  

5. Breathe

Most of us live on shallow breathing, especially when life is busy and stress is high. Deep breathing is a simple way to calm the nervous system and ease stress and tension.

Try this for one minute, once or twice a day, or anytime you feel overwhelmed.

Breathe in for four, hold for two, exhale for four.

Deep breathing creates space for what we really want: deep conversations, deep love. But first, let us start with deep breaths.

Breathe in 4 seconds, hold for 2, Release for 4 seconds. Repeat for 1 minute, 3 times a day.

Putting It All the Pieces Together

Heart health is not built on one perfect habit. It is built on a pattern. Sleep, color your plate, move your body, journal with pen to pad, and breathe with intention. These habits work together to support your heart, your energy, and your ability to love well.

If you would like support with prevention, or you want to understand your personal risk factors, we are here. At IWC Primary Care, we help patients make sense of the basics, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and lifestyle patterns, then build a plan that feels clear and manageable. We specialize in Medicare and Medicare Advantage care, and we

proudly support TRICARE and military families. We also accept most major insurance plans.

Love Day is coming. Let your heart be ready.  Contact us today to schedule a visit.

THE IWC PRIMARY CARE TEAM