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You might be eager to leap into your exercise routine and get on with the day — but don't just dive in. Starting a workout with "cold" muscles can lead to injury. It's important to start each workout with a warm-up and end with a cool-down — and that goes for true beginners, seasoned pros, and everyone in between.

Warm-up

Warming up pumps nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood to your muscles as it speeds up your heart rate and breathing. A good warm-up should last five to 10 minutes and work all major muscle groups. For best results, start slowly, then pick up the pace. Many warm-up routines focus on cardio and range-of-motion exercises, such as jumping jacks and lunges. If you prefer, you can do a simpler warm-up by walking in place while gently swinging your arms, or even dancing to a few songs. 

Watch for the warning signs of depression, which is often missed in people with heart disease.

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All people have days when they feel sad, gloomy, or down in the dumps. But if those feelings last for weeks and you gradually stop feeling hopeful or happy about anything in your life, you may have depression. Like heart disease, depression is common, so it's not unusual to have both conditions together. In fact, depression is about twice as likely to occur in people with heart disease compared with the general population. And people with depression face a heightened risk of heart disease.

"It's really important for people to be aware of this link and to get treatment for depression, because it can be very debilitating," says Dr. Christopher Celano, a psychiatrist at the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

How does exercise reduce stress? Surprising answers to this question and more.

How does exercise reduce stress, and can exercise really be relaxing?

Rest and relaxation. It's such a common expression that it has become a cliche. And although rest really can be relaxing, the pat phrase causes many men to overlook the fact that exercise can also be relaxing. It's true for most forms of physical activity as well as for specific relaxation exercises.

With the increased stress caused by the the COVID-19 pandemic, prescriptions for medications to treat mental illnesses have increased, leading to potential shortages of certain psychiatric medications. This means that some people might need to discuss their options with their prescribing clinician.

News briefs

The use of electronic apps (applications) downloaded to a smartphone or laptop has been revolutionizing the way we do many tasks, including staying healthy and socially connected. And a review of studies published online Jan. 30, 2020, by BMJ Open suggests that certain apps may also help you do a good job of staying on your medication schedule. Researchers combed through nine randomized controlled trials that included about 1,000 mostly middle-aged and older adults with chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, depression, or Parkinson's disease. People who used apps to support them in taking medications were twice as likely to report that they stuck to a medication regimen compared with people who didn't use apps. The study doesn't prove that apps are going to make people take their pills; the information in the study came from self-reported adherence, not objective measures like pill count or blood levels of drugs. But since these were randomized trials, the results probably are valid. And apps can help in many ways: you can use medication apps not only to set reminders to take medications and log when you've had them, but also to look up potential drug interactions, renew prescriptions, identify pills, and even find cheaper drug prices.

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Here's another reason to stay off the road if you've been drinking any amount of alcohol: a study published online March 3, 2020, by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that a significant amount of motor vehicle deaths involve people who've consumed alcohol but whose blood alcohol levels do not exceed legal limits. In most states, it's legal to drive with a blood alcohol level above zero but below .08%. When researchers evaluated all vehicle-related deaths that occurred in the United States from 2000 to 2015 (612,000 deaths), they noted that nearly 37% of the deaths (more than 223,000) occurred in crashes involving one or more drivers who'd been drinking. Of those deaths, 15% (almost 34,000) were from crashes involving drivers whose blood alcohol level was detectable but within legal limits. And 55% of the people who died in those crashes were passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers who hadn't been drinking. Bottom line: driving with a low blood alcohol level may be legal, but it's not really safe.

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Stressful experiences are hard to avoid and impossible to predict. But taking steps to bolster your resilience may help.

The palpable stress stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic has made things once considered stressful — such as deadlines or traffic jams — seem pretty trivial in comparison. But while you may not be able to avoid the stressful situations that come your way, there are ways to mitigate your body's response to those events.

So far, the evidence that stress management strategies can protect your heart is limited but growing. Yet there's no doubt that stress contributes to heart problems. "The link between stress and cardiovascular disease is well established," says cardiologist Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Research we're watching

If you tried smoking at a young age, your chances of being an adult smoker go up, says a study published in April 2020 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study authors looked at data from more than 6,500 children and adolescents between the ages of six and 19 who were then followed into their 40s. Study authors found that the earlier people tried smoking, the more likely they were to have a daily habit as they aged. For example, of the people who first tried smoking between the ages of 6 and 12, 50% were daily smokers by the time they reached their 20s, compared with 8% of people who started smoking at 18 or 19.

Do you struggle with decisions? These strategies can help you make good choices more efficiently.

We make countless choices every day. Most are the mundane variety: what to eat, what to wear, what movie to watch. But often our decisions (or lack thereof) have a significant impact on our well-being.

Poor decision making is often a consequence of natural cognitive decline. This can cloud people's judgment about what is the right course of action or make it harder to weigh multiple options. The result is that people make questionable choices, or they feel overwhelmed and don't make any decision, which is sometimes even worse.

Stretching becomes crucial as you age. Here is a quick routine that addresses the major tight spots.

Stretching is much like flossing. You know it's good for your health, but for whatever reason, you may not always make time for it.

"Most people know they need to stretch more, but find it burdensome or are not sure what to do," says Urvashi Chogle, a physical therapist at Harvard-affiliated Spaulding Rehabilitation Network.