The ten most dangerous minutes for your heart across the day are the first ten minutes after you open your eyes upon waking. While you sleep, the blood thickens because you lose fluids during sleep (through breathing and sweating), and the blood becomes more concentrated and moves more slowly through your vessels; thus the greatest risk of coagulation is present. The risk of a potential cardiac event increases because cortisol rises upon waking and blood pressure climbs as the vessels constrict.
What can you do to reduce the risk? The first and foremost step, even before you put a foot on the floor, is to drink a glass of water that will help thin the blood. A glass reduces the risk of clots by rehydrating the bloodstream and restoring viscosity.
After drinking, do not stand up immediately. Sit on the edge of the bed for at least a couple of minutes. Your cardiovascular system requires time to transition from rest to an upright posture. With those two minutes you simply reduce the orthostatic stress on your heart.
And one final tip: your first coffee of the day should wait. Before that caffeine dose, it’s better to eat something. A simple yogurt, a banana, a couple of cookies will help stabilize cortisol levels, which is key to protecting the blood vessels from the morning spike.
