Tag Archive for stress

High Blood Pressure and Christmas

18/12/2011 admin causes of hypertension, high blood pressure solutions No comments

It’s coming around to the holiday season and the time for everyone to relax and enjoy – right?

The fact is that a lot of pressure comes the holidays and health concerns, along with blood pressure, sky rockets for a lot of people.

Could Christmas be bad for your health? Well it doesn’t have to be. Imagine a healthy and enjoyable Christmas an New Years. I sincerely believe it’s possible.

The three big causes of high blood pressure and poor health in general are – poor diet, lack of exercise, and anxiety. All three of these factors can be exasperated during the holiday season as we sit around the dinner table gorging ourselves on various mixtures of sugar and grease, too stuffed to move and getting annoyed  with our relatives.

OK, that’s the worse case scenario ;) . It’s never usually that bad – but if we approach the holidays with a bit of forethought we can avoid the pitfalls and still have a really good time.

I’d even go as far as saying that a healthy Christmas could be happiest too.

So what to do? Live like a ascetic monk forgoing all the fleshy pleasures? Of course not. No need. Just try to strike a balance.

Enjoy Christmas dinner but don’t stuff yourself. Get some exercise before and after the meal.Strive for balance. You’ll feel better, more relaxed, and it’s less likely that that irritating cousin of yours will get under your nose and raise your blood pressure as usual.

Have a couple of drinks for New year’s Eve – but knock ‘em back till your comatose – less fun and really bad for your health – you’ll only start the New Year hung over and miserable.

Strive for balance. A balanced life is a happier life – and one were blood pressure stays within expectable limits.

Most importantly of all – stop worrying so much. Worrying never solved anything and simply put, it’s bad for your health. Worrying raises stress levels and blood pressure.

So the most important holiday message I have for you is – try not to get too stressed. Stress is the silent killer, not high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a symptom.

Keeping blood presure down

03/06/2011 admin blood pressure readings, Breatheasy, causes of hypertension, Food & Exercise to lower blood pressure naturally, how to lower high blood pressure, hypertension dialogues, lower high blood pressure No comments

It’s been over two years now since my battle with high blood pressure began and I started this blog – both to help myself and others who are in the same boat.

Here are some reflections two years on:

The main cause of hypertension is modern life.

Life in the 21st century leads to high blood pressure by a number of means.

  • First of there is increasing stress levels that come with increasing levels of personal debt. There are far fewer home owners (people without a mortgage) than there ever was in the previous century. Debt, increased competition, less opportunity, struggling finances, etc., all equal greater stress levels which result in hypertension and poorer all-round health.
  • The increasing dominance of the car and other ‘labour-saving’ devices result in us moving our bodies less and less. We are starving for exercise. As our muscles, lungs, and heart get neglected our ability to keep our cardiovascular system in good health decreases. Result: weaker heart working harder to pump blood around constricted blood vessels.
  • The food industry is not helping us either. Processed foods containing large doses of hidden salt, sugar and fat clog our veins, reduce our overall health, and jack up our blood pressure.

So what’s the solution to the ailments caused by modern life? Buck the trend. Live within your means and try to eliminate those nagging credit card bills and the stress that come with them. Learn to relax. Try meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, whatever interests you. Leave the car keys at home and take a walk to the store the next time. Buy wholesome basic foods and rediscover the joys of home cooking.

Sure, these solutions may seem rather flippant and may not apply to everyone reading this but I’m sure you get the jist. Reducing high blood pressure is really a mater of making changes to your life style – taking back control of your life.

Healthy blood pressure is a long-term committement

If you make the necessary changes your blood pressure will come down over time – without the need of taking a daily dose of hypertension medications (and dealing with the many negative side effects that come with these pills).

But the catch is it’s not a ‘do-it-once’ solution. It requires a change in lifestyle and that change has to be permanent. No going back to sitting on the couch all day eating junk food worrying about the next credit card bill.

The shift to a more healthy lifestyle must be a permanent one if you want to see your blood pressure levels come down to an acceptable range and stay there. The good news is that one you move to a healthier lifestyle not only will your blood pressure improve but so will your general outlook on life. You’ll feel in  a better mood generally. Living is simple better and more enjoyable when you are healthier.

So what gives me the authority to make such sweeping statements? In one word – experience. Two years ago I was suffering dangerously high blood pressure with a reading of 190+ systolic and 120+ diastolic.

After a year of switching to a healthier lifestyle without the use of high blood pressure medication, my reading came down to a 135 / 90 level. A little highr than the ideal of 120/80 but within an acceptable range and well out of the danger range. This year my reading regularly go a little below the ideal such as 115/75 region.

I never would have believed it two years ago. I and didn’t try too hard. just switched to a healthier diet and dusted off my bicycle. I also take supplements every day – Vitimin C, and multi-vitimin, and calcium/magnesium. If you stick to it blood pressure will drop and your health will increase.

That’s what has worked for me, my solution to high bloood pressure and I’m confident it will work for you too.

 

 

How to lower high blood pressure

19/10/2010 admin causes of hypertension, lower high blood pressure No comments

An increasing number of people are seeking how to lower high blood pressure naturally without the use of anti-hypertension medications. I’m happy to announce that there are a number of ways to reduce blood pressure as alternatives to medications and each of these methods is directly related to the causes of hypertension.

The three main causes of hypertension are stress, poor diet, and lack of exercise. When you’re learned to tackle these three causes head on you’ve learned how to lower high blood pressure without the need for medications.

Starting with stress, I think most people would agree that we live in an increasingly stressful world with rising debt levels and decreasing opportunities. Many of us suffer high stress levels without even realizing it. Thankfully there are ways of getting it down to healthy levels along with your blood pressure. Yoga and meditation are the traditional methods but slow breathing exercises with the aid of an audio program like BreathEasy has become very popular. Another stress reducing program is Christian Goodman’s 3 exercises.

The bottom line is this: Reduce stress and you will reduce blood pressure because it is an established fact that stress is one of the major causes of hypertension.

Moving on to poor diet, it’s a fact that our eating habits here in the developed world has much to be desired. Fried food and fast food with too much bad cholesterol and salt is a principle cause of hypertension. Switching to a healthier diet with plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains along with a reduction of salt and cholesterol can significantly lower blood pressure over time.

In the modern world we spend far too much time sitting in our cars or sitting in front of the TV and computers, physically inactive. We no longer spend enough time moving our bodies and getting sufficient exercise. A lack of exercise is regarded as one of the significant  causes of hypertension for many people.

The solution is simple: get some exercise. You can start with just a walk around the block once or twice a day to start if you’re seriously out of shape. Work your way up to a more rigorous routine when you feel ready. You’ll look better, feel better and be on you way to eliminating one of the major causes of hypertension.

As you can see, how to lower high blood pressure without the use of medications isn’t rocket-science. It’s actually pretty straightforward. The key is to stop reading about it, stop thinking about it, stop worrying about it – and just start doing it! Go for a walk, take 15 minutes to do a slow breathing exercise, prepare a good healthy meal for yourself – and you’re on the road to a healthier and happier life. Keep it up and you’ll never have to worry about how to lower high blood pressure again. That’s because you won’t have high blood pressure anymore.

The causes of hypertension can be tackled and eliminated for good.

Start today. :-)

Stress and hypertension

19/07/2010 admin hypertension dialogues No comments

The link between stress and hypertension is undeniable. The very simple fact is that if you live a high stress life then that fact is going to reflect in a higher blood pressure (and probably a shorter life span).

Another thing about stress and stress-related blood pressure is that it’s not always evident. You can be a sufferer of stress and not even realize it. Stress builds up slowly in the dark recesses of your nervous system. over the course of years. What feels ‘normal’ to you may actually be a stressful existence.

But stress doesn’t affect us all equally. Some of us can get away with a lot more stress than others when it comes to blood pressure and health in general. I’m not one of those people and stress will always show up in my blood pressure so I’ve had to take remedies to reduce stress.

That’s easier said than done. Wanting to reduce stress and actually accomplishing it are two different things. You can’t ‘think’ your stress levels down – you have to DO something.

If you suffer from stress and high blood pressure you want to get both levels down. To start, take a walk, preferably in nature, like a path through the woods or your local park if you have one nearby. Get away from load mechanical noises like cars if possible. The tranquility of nature can be very soothing for you nerves.

Yoga, Tai Chi, and acupuncture have been noted as good for reducing stress and lowering blood pressure – although I haven’t tried then myself.

An increasingly popular way to reduce stress and blood pressure is slow breathing. High Street drug stores here in the UK are now selling a special machine called ‘Resperate‘ which assists you in calming down the system through slow, regulated\breathing. These machines aren’t cheap – selling for around £100 + – but they do seem to be effective given their popularity.

Personally I use the BreathEasy tapes to do stress-reducing slow breathing exercises. Just following along for 15 minutes a day helps restore sanity into my life, relaxes my nervous system, and helps keep my blood pressure withing healthy ranges. If you interested in trying out a sample click to my BreathEasy Review

Another popular approach to stress reduction and blood pressure normalization is Christian Goodman’s 3 exercises. These exercises are also largely based on breathing techniques but incorporate additional measures such as muscle relaxation and mild physical exercise. You can read more about these techniques in my Christian Goodman Review.

Mind you, stress isn’t the only factor that can cause high blood pressure. There’s also bad diet, lack of exercise, and genetics that can contribute to hypertension. Thankfully all these factors can be dealt with. Of course you can’t change your genetic code but adopting a healthy blood pressure lifestyle can counteract any genetic propensities towards developing high blood pressure you may have inherited.

But stress remains a central contributing factor with most people with hypertension. You’ll want to reduce stress in your life one way or the other. Too much stress can cause all sorts of health complications later on in life.

Life stress-free. Live happy. Live healthy.

High Blood Pressure – Why and How

29/04/2009 admin high blood pressure solutions No comments

I have been diagnosed with blood pressure 195/120. That’s not good. 120/85 is considered “normal”.

So the two questions are:

  1. Why is my blood pressure so high?
  2. And how do I get it back down?

Neither of these questions have simple staightforward answers or solutions.

The best answer I can come up with for question 1 is ‘genetics’. What else could it be? I am not obese. I’m not a chain smoking alcholic. I live a reasonable stress-free life. My diet has been, not great perhaps, but not terrible either. So it must be genetics – and possibly built up but hidden emotion stress – I sometimes wonder.

The solution? Now that’s really the sixty-four thousand dollar question. One thing is for sure – those professing to know the cure have very different and even conflicting opinions.

But I’ve reduced it to three approaches:

  1. Change / addition to diet (possibly including ingesting prescription drugs).
  2. Physical exercises.
  3. Mental exercises.

All ‘remedies’ I’ve accessed and tried so far can be summed up with one or more of these approaches.

Apart from the ACE inhibitor my doctor prescribed, (that after 1 month showed zero results), I’ve downloaded and are using to other alternative approaches.

One is a comprehensive book on hypertension with a lot of information on useful foods and potions to lower blood pressure. Hence I would say it falls into solution category 1. You can check it out from this link- www.bloodpressurenormalized.com. It’s a little over-hyped and that initially put me off but in fact its got tons of good info to use.

The other approach I’m experimenting with is three exercises that can be performed with the assistance of  audio tracks. They’re simple enough to perform and don’t take up too much time.

My final conclusion as to they are working or  just a waste of time is out. But first indications are that they may be valid. After doing an ‘emotional release’ exercise the other day I monitored my blood pressure and it had dropped to 150 / 95 – the lowest it’s been for many months.

But is it sustainable? Or just a temporary relief? The verdict is out at the moment. The link for this website is here: www.highbloodpressure.ws

It would be great to hear from other high blood pressure sufferers if they have tried either of the aids and what the results were – positive and/or negative.

I’d also like to hear of other kinds of treatments successes. I hopes someone will read this someday.

Now I’m rambling.

My next post I’ll share details of the things I’m trying and the results – real and percieved.

Take care,

Simon

 
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