Have you ever stopped to think about what would happen if you or someone close to you suddenly had a stroke? It’s easy to assume that strokes come with clear warning signs, but the sad truth is, that’s not always the case. Every two seconds, somewhere in the world, someone has a stroke, and most of the time, it happens with little to no warning. You could be enjoying your morning coffee, and hours later, find yourself unable to move an arm or speak properly. If that thought surprises you, then you really need to hear what comes next.
Many of our daily habits, things we might think are harmless, like sleeping in a weird position, skipping a walk, or eating junk food “just this once,” could actually be paving the way for a stroke. And once that happens, life changes in an instant. What’s more, if you’re over 55 or 60, your risk doubles if you keep making the mistakes we’re about to talk about. Stick around until the end of this post, because I’m going to tell you about the 10 worst habits that are quietly increasing your stroke risk. The last three are so dangerous and often overlooked that they’ll probably shock you. (Based on the insights of Dr. RN Veller, a doctor of internal medicine)
🔥The Silent Threat: Understanding Stroke Risk
Let’s start with the countdown.
👉Key Takeaways
➡️10. Sitting for Hours
This is a big one. It’s super easy to just sink into a comfy couch and let the day go by, whether you’re reading the news, binging your favorite show, or scrolling through social media. But sitting for long periods is way more harmful than you might think. Your blood circulation slows down, which can lead to blood clots forming in your legs. Plus, your blood gets thicker, which can damage the walls of your arteries. Sometimes, these clots or damage happen in the arteries of your brain or neck, especially if you already have heart problems. If those clots break loose, they can block arteries and cause a stroke.
We now know that spending too many hours sitting without moving is as bad as smoking 10 cigarettes a day. My advice? Just get up every 30 to 40 minutes to stretch, stand on your tiptoes, or take a short walk around your living room. These simple movements get your blood flowing and protect your blood vessels. So, ask yourself: how many hours a day do you sit without getting up? If it’s more than 3 or 4 hours, consider this a warning sign.
➡️9. Eating Too Much Salt Without Realizing It
Did you know that store-bought soups, processed meats, grated cheese, frozen meals, and packaged snacks all have something in common? It’s their high sodium content. Salt is everywhere, and while a moderate amount is fine, too much of it raises your blood pressure without you even knowing it, because it doesn’t cause any symptoms at first. This extra sodium is hidden in most processed foods, like a can of tomato sauce or a dressing like mayonnaise, which seem harmless.
But remember, high blood pressure is a silent disease and the main risk factor for death from strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure. This condition weakens your artery walls without you noticing, making them more likely to break, get blocked, and form clots over time. And if you think these changes aren’t happening because you don’t feel anything, understand this: that damage is there, building up day after day, making your body more vulnerable without you knowing.
So, what can you do to protect yourself? Start by checking the labels of everything you eat and try to limit your daily sodium intake to 2,000 mg, or even less if your doctor tells you to. If reading labels is tough, just swap out all ultra-processed foods for real, homemade meals. Season with herbs and medicinal spices like bay leaf, turmeric, mustard powder, pepper, and oregano. These add a medicinal punch to your food without the risk of raising your blood pressure.
➡️8. Sleeping in a Bad Position
For example, sleeping on your back might be comfy for some, but if you tend to snore, are overweight, or have sleep apnea, this position can reduce or block airflow, which can lower your blood oxygen levels and raise your blood pressure. When your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, it triggers an inflammatory reaction, which encourages clot formation and circulation problems inside your brain.
Now, pay close attention: also be careful about sleeping on your stomach. While it might seem harmless, it messes with the normal alignment of your spine, especially in your neck and lower back, causing pain and stiffness during the day. This stresses your body, activates your nervous system, and keeps you from getting good rest. While the best sleeping position is whatever makes you most comfortable and helps you sleep through the night, I recommend sleeping on your side, either left or right, with a pillow between your knees. These positions align your spine, open your airways, support your neck, and also allow for better brain cleansing at night. And watch out for this: if you think you snore really loudly or stop breathing briefly during the night, get tested for sleep apnea, because this could be what’s behind that uncontrolled high blood pressure.
➡️7. Not Drinking Water in the Morning
When you wake up, your body is dehydrated, and the first hour is super important. If you don’t rehydrate, your blood can stay thicker, which increases the risk of clot formation and high blood pressure. Plus, thick blood can cause blockages that affect your brain. Imagine waking up feeling a little fuzzy or dizzy. You might think it’s just age or bad sleep, but it could actually be mild dehydration that you didn’t suspect because you weren’t thirsty.
At this point, I need to warn you: thirst is a late sign of dehydration. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink water. A simple solution is to drink a big glass of water within the first 30 minutes of waking up. And if you don’t like plain water, add a little lemon or a pinch of fresh ginger. Drink water even before you make coffee or tea, because while these drinks are good for you, they can increase diuresis, meaning they make you pee more, which can dehydrate you further if you don’t drink water beforehand.
➡️6. Eating Vegetable Seed Oils
Pay close attention here. These products can be more harmful and cause more deaths than even sugar itself. I’m talking about refined sunflower, corn, canola, and soybean oils. They’re not healthy at all, and even worse when heated. These products contain substances derived from petroleum and shouldn’t be eaten, much less promoted as healthy, because they increase inflammation and cause damage throughout your body.
These oils trigger the formation of something like rust inside our bodies. This “rust” builds up and, over time, damages the inner lining of your blood vessels. The damage to the artery wall makes it easier for fat and calcium plaques to build up, which eventually block them and increase the chance of clots forming. You might not feel anything now, but if you get a blood test, you might see increased cholesterol, triglycerides, or notice your blood pressure is already rising. If you get an ultrasound, you might see that your liver is already accumulating fat or is inflamed, and you also have a higher risk of diabetes. Each of these conditions are factors that, over time, can lead to strokes.
My advice: avoid or greatly reduce your consumption of these oils. Try sautéing or baking your food with a drizzle of avocado or virgin olive oil, or a small teaspoon of clarified butter. Or even better, use an air fryer so you don’t have to heat oils or fats. Also, skip anything ultra-processed, because they’re loaded with these products, as well as refined palm oil, which is also inflammatory. Finally, avoid frying your food as much as possible, no matter what oil or fat you use.
➡️5. Ignoring the Urge to Go to the Bathroom
It might seem unimportant, but constantly holding in your bowel movements causes chronic constipation. And the problem isn’t just feeling bloated or uncomfortable. When stool builds up for several days, it increases the release of toxins, ferments, and damages your intestinal barrier.
This makes your gut more permeable, allowing toxic substances that shouldn’t pass through to enter your blood, creating a state of low-grade chronic inflammation that affects your whole body, including your blood vessels and brain. The result? Increased risk of high blood pressure, damage to artery walls, and consequently, an unexpected stroke. So now you know, something as simple as listening to your body and not putting off going to the bathroom can be a small but powerful habit to protect your brain health and your life.
➡️4. Eating Foods That Harm Your Gut Microbiota
Sugary drinks, industrial juices, refined bread and flours, processed products with artificial colors, additives, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners like sucralose or aspartame. All of these mess with the balance of good bacteria in your gut. This is a big deal. When it happens, your gut gets inflamed, and the connection between your gut and your brain gets messed up.
Plus, the silent inflammation that starts doesn’t just stay in your gut; it spreads, affecting your immune system by lowering your defenses, damaging blood vessels, and increasing the risk of chronic diseases, including those that lead to brain attacks. Your gut microbiota is like an army of defenders, and you need to take care of it. If you feed it what it needs—fruits with peels, seeds, vegetables with natural fibers, and fermented foods like natural yogurt, kefir, kombucha—these microorganisms will protect you. But if you attack it every day with artificial, nutrient-poor products, that defense breaks down. And when it breaks down, the price is very high. Taking care of your gut is taking care of your heart, your brain, and your life.
Next, let’s look at the top 3 most dangerous habits (click next)…