Don’t let the title fool you. High blood pressure is no laughing matter. But laughing could help.
Dealing with hypertension can be a tricky business because there is usually no single clearly identifiable cause. It can be a mixture of things such as diet, lack of exercise, genetics, and … attitude.
It’s been well known that stress can cause our blood pressure to rise. Arguing with your partner probably isn’t good for your BP. Get stuck in traffic jams when you’re late for an appointment probably doesn’t help either. The list could go on but you get the point.
Our mental attitude can effect our blood pressure. The problem is we can’t just consciously lower our blood pressure or the rate of our heartbeat - like we can alter our breathing patterns, for example.
The good news is that we can alter our unconscious blood pressure regulator by indirect methods. Breatheasy slow breathing exercises, and Christian Goodman’s 3 exercises to lower blood pressure are examples of stress reducing exercises that can have a positive effect on our BP.
Another is laughter. Get sense of humour. Watch some good comedies on TV or the local theater. Get a good joke book. Have a laugh. De-stress. Try to look at things from the from the lighter side. All these things can help reduce your blood pressure and give your poor old heart a break.
To kick-start the process, here’s one of my favourate jokes.
…..
Husband and Wife
Husband has lately got into healthy eating and organics and yells at the wife who is going out the door to buy some vegetables at the local grocery store – “Make sure it’s organic!”
At the store the wife asks the young clerk (who’s new on the job) “Are these organic?” pointing at the array of fresh vegetables on display.
Unsure, the clerk responds “What do you mean by organic?”
Losing her patience the wife responds sharply “LOOK, I’M BUYING THESE VEGETABLES FOR MY HUSBAND … AND I NEED TO KNOW … HAVE THEY BEEN SPRAYED WITH POISON?!?”
“Oh, no mam”, answers the clerk, “you have to do that yourself.”
….
That’s a bit of Welsh sense of humour I heard from Roy Noble on Radio Wales. He has a chat show Monday to Friday 2 pm to 4 pm GMT (that’s 9 am to 11 am Eastern USA). You can tune in here: BBC Radio Wales, sit back and relax. Listening to Roy Noble could lower your blood pressure.
