February is Heart Month—But Let’s End With What We Don’t Talk About
February is Heart Health Month. All month long, we hear about cholesterol. LDL. HDL. Triglycerides. Blood pressure. Step counts. Cardio targets. And those markers absolutely matter. But as we close out the month, I want to talk about something that often flies under the radar.
Your nervous system.
Because heart health doesn’t start with numbers. It starts upstream—with stress physiology. If your body is stuck in fight-or-flight, optimizing downstream labs will only move the needle so far. Especially in midlife. In our 40s and 50s—when hormones shift, sleep becomes lighter, recovery changes—intensity doesn’t protect the heart the way regulation does.
And that’s a very different conversation.
Stress Is a Cardiometabolic Event
Stress isn’t just a feeling. It’s chemistry.
When your nervous system perceives stress:
- Cortisol rises
- Blood sugar increases
- Insulin follows
In short bursts, this is adaptive. It helps you survive.
But when stress runs in the background for months or years?
- Triglycerides can rise
- Blood pressure can creep up
- Inflammation markers increase
- Sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented
Your body does not distinguish between emotional stress and physical danger. It simply responds.
And here’s the quiet reframe: Overriding exhaustion is not grit. It’s a stress signal.
Many midlife women (and men!) are trying to outwork physiology that is simply asking for steadiness.
The Practical Side of Stress Regulation
This is where we move away from “just relax” and toward real physiology support.
Start small:
- Eat regularly. Don’t skip meals on busy days.
- Include protein at breakfast to anchor blood sugar early.
- Step outside within 30 minutes of waking for morning light exposure.
- Walk for 5–10 minutes after meals.
- Practice saying no to one nonessential obligation per week.
Regulation doesn’t require a two-hour meditation practice (unless you have the desire and time to do that!). It requires rhythm.
Sleep: The Quiet Risk Factor
If heart health is the goal, sleep is not optional.
Poor sleep can:
- Reduce insulin sensitivity
- Raise fasting glucose
- Elevate CRP (an inflammation marker)
- Increase blood pressure
- Disrupt hunger hormones
And midlife women often sleep worse. Hormonal transitions, caregiving roles, career demands—the sleep struggle is real. But instead of asking why we’re tired, we double down.
More caffeine.
More willpower.
More productivity.
This approach is not heart-protective.
Practical Ways to Protect Sleep
Here are some things that may help you find your sleep rhythm.
- Morning light within 30 minutes of waking
- Protein + fiber at first meal
- Avoid caffeine on an empty stomach
- Stop caffeine by early afternoon
- Dim lights after dinner
- Create a 10-minute wind-down ritual (no screens, lower lights, slower pace)
Supplements like magnesium glycinate, glycine, melatonin or L-theanine can support physiology—but they cannot out-supplement dysregulated patterns.
Sleep is not indulgent. It is cardiometabolic maintenance.
Blood Sugar = Internal Safety
Blood sugar stability is deeply tied to nervous system regulation.
When blood sugar spikes and crashes:
- Cortisol steps in
- Sometimes adrenaline follows
- Inflammation increases
- Endothelial function (the lining of blood vessels) becomes stressed
Stable blood sugar equals a calmer internal environment. And I care far more about rhythm than perfection.
Practical Blood Sugar Anchors
Instead of focusing on restriction, try:
- Protein + fiber at each meal
- Eat enough — under-eating drives stress chemistry
- Don’t skip lunch during busy weeks
- Include fiber-rich carbohydrates at dinner if sleep has been poor
- Lightly salt food if you feel wired and depleted
- Walk after meals to support glucose disposal
Scarcity physiology—think under-eating, over-caffeinating, over-training—is not heart-protective.
Your body reads that as stress, not discipline. And if you want to go deeper into blood sugar and heart health, check out this blog post.
Exercise Without Stress Addiction
Movement is powerful for heart health. But intensity layered on top of stress and under-fueling can push the stress response further. Especially because midlife bodies recover differently.
A heart-supportive movement pattern often looks like:
- Strength training a few times per week
- Daily walking
- Some cardiovascular training
- Built-in rest days
If you feel wired instead of steady after workouts, that’s information. Note to self: You don’t get bonus heart points for being exhausted.
The Bottom Line
You can’t out-discipline dysregulation.
Before the next supplement.
Before the next aggressive diet.
Before adding more workouts.
Regulate first.
Stabilize blood sugar.
Protect sleep.
Lower unnecessary stress inputs.
Choose movement that builds resilience.
Steadiness protects the heart.
And as we close February—that’s the part of heart health I don’t want overlooked.
Want to Go Deeper?
If this perspective resonates, I go deeper into the physiology in the latest episode of Elegantly Unhinged.
Because in midlife we don’t need more optimization. We need more regulation.
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