By Colette Dreyer RD (SA)
Managing stress to keep blood pressure low
Everyone handles stress in a different way. Do you eat and sleep more, or sleep less, skip meals or drink more alcohol? It’s important to identify how stress affects you. Stress is a risk factor for high blood pressure and heart disease. Being stressed and not managing it could lead to unhealthy behaviours that can lead to increased blood pressure or heart diseases. Therefore, its essential to identify your stress behaviours and learn to manage stress.
General tips:
- Ensure that you get at least 7-9 hours of sleep in every day. Inadequate sleep can influence your energy level, physical health, mood and mental alertness. If you are struggling to sleep, try to improve sleep hygiene.
- Increase physical activity- Exercise has been shown to be one of the best stress relievers. It plays a role in debriefing and let out of all frustrations.
- Follow a well-balanced diet- This plays a large role as coping mechanism as certain nutrients will be used up quickly in stressful situations. These nutrients include vitamin B that plays a role in a healthy central nervous system and energy levels, as well as vitamin C and zinc that has a large role in the immune system.
- Avoid stressful situations by planning in advance. Make a to do list and prioritize.
- Laugh as much as you can, it’s the bodies natural stress relief mechanism.
- Set out time to do things you love, and just take your mind off of things.
- Exchange the bad habits with good habits. Try to avoid smoking, drinking alcohol or excess coffee, and overeating. Rather focus on exercising, drinking enough water and eating a healthy balanced diet.
- If you still struggle to manage stress, talk to a family member, a friend or a professional such as a psychologist.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa. Healthy eating guidelines. Available at http://www.heartfoundation.co.za/healthy-eating/ (Accessed 9 March 2020).