TIPS ON MANAGING HYPERTENSION

Blood pressure changes moment by moment and day by day. The fluctuations are normal and expected. However, if your blood pressure runs a bit high, it is a warning sign worth paying attention to. If your blood pressure is very high, it needs to be tended to immediately.

The threshold for treatment used to be 140/90 and below. About six years ago this was changed to 130/80 and below. The change in guidelines brought many more people into the category of needing medical treatment for blood pressure. There is a range of what readings to expect. A fairly active person in her twenties will probably have a lower blood pressure than a fairly active person in her 80s.

You can reduce your blood pressure. Some are very easily incorporated in your lifestyle today and will have immediate effect. Some require a greater commitment to your health, something everyone is encouraged to consider before nature has to send you a wake-up call.

Drink Plenty of Water: The kidneys are a major player in several factors that affect blood pressure, including stress response, cortisol levels, and electrolyte levels. Be kind to your kidneys and bathe them in water.

Water is Nature’s anti-depressant. Keeping yourself well hydrated is one of the best things you can do for your health, well-being and longevity. It is a better energizer than all the caffeine or sugar you get in so-called energy bars. You can ask any athlete or trainer if this is true.

How much water? Here is a formula: take your body weight , divide that number in half, that number is how many ounces to drink a day. If you weigh 180 pounds, drink 90 ounces of water daily. Other beverages include water but pure water is better. You do not need the extra sugar. Even artificially sweetened drinks cause a glycemic response. Drink before you eat so as not to dilute your digestive juices. Drink early in the day to avoid having to get up at night.

Find ways to reduce stress: Reducing stress is not complicated. Stress is nature’s way of calling your attention to problems. Resolve the problem and the stress goes away. Because we are bombarded with stressors all the time there are many things we cannot change. Over time we have become accustomed to living with very high base levels of stress.

How to deal with background levels of stress: Mini-breaks are a great way to introduce relaxation into your life. A mini-break is just that, a short break. Regular breaks are better than once a year vacations.

Come to your senses: The trick to a stress break involves using sense perception as a support. Think of is as coming to your senses. Set aside 5 minutes. Start your stress break where you can be unobserved. Just do nothing for a minute or two and allow your body and mind to slow down. Then pick a focal point – something to look at or to listen to. Allow yourself to look or listen deeply, so much so that it begins to feel like the object supports you. Do this for a minute or two. Finish by again just doing nothing. Allow the stress to melt away. Then, with a calm and refreshed mind, go back to your business.

Take your first break when you get up, one when you get to work, one at lunch, one at 3 pm, one when you get home, and one just before bed. If your blood pressure is high, take more. Step outside the things that stress you – take walks, go out with friends, have a date with your spouse and take one or two day vacations.

Develop an early warning system. Once you start taking stress breaks you start to notice the contrast. Once you learn how to take these stress breaks they will begin to feel natural. Then the rising of stress triggers the reminder to relax. You begin to notice when your stress level is rising and take an informal stress break. It’s good for the mind and good for the body.

Exercise: Move your body, move your blood, and strengthen your circulatory system. Walk, run, sing, dance. The more you do, the more you will want to do. Find ways to move your body that work for you. Do you like to be alone? Dance to music at home. Do you need to get out and meet people? Find a dance group. Does Nature lift your spirits? Go walk in the biggest church of all. No matter what your age, move it or lose it.

Get Smaller: There is a direct correlation between weight and blood pressure. Losing weight will bring your blood pressure down. Your doctor knows this but may or may not tell you before prescribing medication.

There is no simple solution here. Everybody knows it is difficult to lose weight, probably even more difficult than stopping smoking. Know that it can be done and you can do it. As with any difficult life change, you may need help with it. Fortunately, there are many sources of help and information that can support you.

Acupuncture: We have seen many people bring their blood pressure into the safe range as a result of getting acupuncture. Often it is one of the first responses people have, regardless of why they came for treatment. We have seen people with dangerously high blood pressure return to normal after a session or two. For most people it takes a little longer.

In most cases, we see people’s blood pressure respond and stabilize. In our experience, acupuncture is a powerful method of reducing blood pressure. The reduction is greatly enhanced by incorporating all the life-style changes mentioned above.

Work with your Doctor: Although your blood pressure may go back to normal, do not change medication without your physician’s advice. It is generally not a good idea to discontinue any medication abruptly. With some medications this can be dangerous. With almost all medications it is better to taper off gradually. We want you to be safe. We want you and your doctors to think of acupuncture as medicine that complements other modalities, not ‘alternative medicine’.

Good life-style, good acupuncture, good body-work (chiropractic, zero-balancing, massage) , good therapy, good western medicine, good yoga/tai chi/chi gung and healthy relationships all work together to make us happy, healthy and able to enjoy our life. Get what you need.