Today is World Heart Day, a special day of the year where we take time to focus on the health of our most important body part: The Heart. While we are aware of the big risks to heart health, such as lack of exercise and smoking, some common everyday activities can also put stress on the heart. Here are five of the most common culprits.

1.Stressing Too Much

Stress isn’t just annoying, it can also be deadly. Some media outlets have even put stressing out too much on par with smoking in regards to its effect on your overall health. According to Everyday Health, stress spurs the body to release adrenaline, which temporarily affects how your body functions — your heart rate increases, and your blood pressure may rise. Over time, too much stress can damage blood vessels in the heart and increase your risk for heart attack and stroke.

2. Not Flossing

While we recently were shocked to learn that flossing wasn't quite as important to our oral health as we were led to believe our entire lives, that doesn’t mean it's completely useless.

A 2014 study published in the Journal of Periodontal Research found that people with coronary heart disease who flossed experienced fewer cardiovascular problems. According to Everyday Health, this may be because bacteria associated with gum disease promote inflammation in the body, and inflammation has been associated with increased risk for heart disease. Flossing may help to decrease the amount of inflammation-promoting bacteria in your mouth, giving you not only healthy pink gums, but also a healthy heart.

3. Watching TV

I’m sorry to break it to you: ‘Netflix and Chill’ may be good for your love life, but it wreaks havoc on your heart. It’s not exactly watching television that’s so bad, but rather sitting for hours on end that does the most damage. According to Health.com, the lack of movement can affect blood flow, and even the amount of fats and sugars in your body. What’s more, sitting is so bad that not even regular exercise is enough to reverse its adverse health effects. One study showed that those who don’t move enough and tend to sit for five hours or more each day have double the risk for heart failure.

While we’re not saying to give up your movie marathons, maybe next time ensure that you get up and move throughout them.

4. Ignoring Snoring

We often overlook snoring (much to the annoyance of our partners). In reality, this everyday behavior could be a sign of a more serious health problem, and ignoring it could be bad for your heart. For some, snoring can be a harbinger of obstructive sleep apnea, a health condition where the upper airway is either completely or partially blocked while asleep. Untreated, sleep apnea can seriously increase blood pressure, which in the long run can increase an individual's risk for stroke or heart attack, Health.com reported.

5. Not Sleeping Enough

Not getting enough sleep has a similar effect on our health as stressing too much. Everyday Health reported that both lead to high resting cortisol and adrenaline levels, which in turn increases heart rate and blood pressure. While the odd night of poor sleep won’t likely do much, in the long run, chronic sleep deprivation can seriously compromise your heart health, so make sure you get a good night’s rest as often as you can.

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