This is one of the more well-known tips for looking after your heart, and that is for a good reason! Your heart acts like any other muscle – the more you use it via exercise, the healthier and stronger it is going to get. This is especially true as you age, because people are more likely to spend their days in a sedentary fashion, when they really should be getting outside in the sun.

Parewaitai village is in a superb location, and the picturesque scenery offers more than a few options for adopting a more active lifestyle.

The fully developed facility will have beautiful quiet streets to enjoy on the sunny Tauranga days, but if you prefer another kind of walk, there are plenty of options to suit.

Take a stroll along the beach nearby, or the local Papamoa Hills trail if you are up for something a little more challenging. If a greater variance in scenery is more your speed, opt for one of the many nature walks that dot the local Tauranga area. The Gordon Carmichael Reserve and Waikareao Estuary offer stunning vistas for any outing, and the McLaren Falls Park is a sight that should not be missed – a lake like something out of a fantasy novel, not too far from the Tauranga CBD.

Aside from walking trails, we at Parewaitai Village can also provide a variety of ways to stay active. Our proposed swimming pool, gymnasium, and bowling green, will all be centres of activity in terms of both the physical and the social sides of life.

One of the biggest and most over-arching ways to combat issues with cardiac health is to de-stress. Stress is a killer, as they say, and it could not be truer. Because stress impacts so many things in your daily life that contribute to your overall health, including that of your heart, staying calm is one of the best ways to ensure your own longevity.

High blood pressure also results from a prevalence of stress, and with high blood pressure comes a strained cardic system. So do enjoy your time in relaxation.

Some ways to stay calm are to engage in your favourite hobbies or self-care treatments – schedule them throughout your day! And of course, being in nature is one of the best ways to relax. Our minds are immediately calmed by natural environments, which is what makes the picturesque views from Parewaitai Village so beneficial.

There would hardly be a point to retiring if you could not enjoy your favourite foods and drinks from day to day, however cardiologists around the world recommend a few key things to integrate into your diet.

Keep alcohol consumption to two glasses or less per day. The tannins in red wine have been speculated to promote a healthy heart, but the ethanol present in alcohol has a negative effect when consumed too often.

Eat nuts, or vegetables like avocado, or high-fat fish like salmon – these are all fantastic ways of boosting the healthy fats in your system. Keep your arteries open and your heart happy.

This may come a bit out of left-field, but getting in a daily friendly interaction can do wonders for your heart (and not just in the metaphorical sense). Mood disorders such as depression and anxiety have a negative impact on how well your heart works for you, and staying social is one of the best ways to keep your mood up, and your stress levels low.

You may be an introvert, or you may gain your energy from the company of others, but either way, it is important to clear your mind for a little while. At Parewaitai Village we know how important that is, so even if you choose a villa the provides solitude, you can get out onto the grounds and interact with your fellow retirees throughout the course of the day.