Is the holiday stress RAISING your blood pressure?
This past week in the office when checking blood pressure on our new patients, it was noted that most readings were higher than the optimal120/80. My associate, Dr. Nop and I were discussing the findings yesterday when she suggested that blood pressure might be higher from the stress of the holidays and all that comes with it. Dr. Nop made a very good point. As the holiday season is now in full swing, and the pressure of shopping and preparing for dinner parties and holiday gatherings are upon us, most of us do tend to over-extend ourselves which can raise our blood pressure.
Instead of rushing to your medical doctor for a drug, there are several options that are easy and natural to safely reduce blood pressure levels back to normal. Here a few that I share with my patients:
- Consuming certain vitamins such as calcium, magnesium, CoQ10 and potassium can help to lower blood pressure naturally. Some foods that contain these vitamins are yogurt, beans, nuts, soy, fish, whole grains and fruits.
- Find an outlet for your stress. Relieving stress can be as simple as listening to music, sitting quietly and deep breathing for a few minutes, or enjoying laughter with a friend.
- Keep moving. Everyone knows that exercise is good for health, well it’s also good for relieving stress which will keep your blood pressure regulated.
- Get your atlas adjusted. Many studies have shown improvement in blood pressure levels after the top vertebrae is aligned properly!
