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LIFESTYLE: Hyper Speed + Hyper Stress = HYPERTENSION

Black woman in a bath

Everyone is hyper these days. We’re now living in a fast-paced world where everything is moving at a very fast/extremely fast rate. The pressure out there is so much. We run out of time and energy on a regular basis. Relationships are strained, minds overstimulated, we neglect our bodies and allow it to degenerate in the name of ‘not having enough time’. We leave our fate in the hands of a silent killer called hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertension is attributed to our daily lifestyles.

High blood pressure rarely has obvious symptoms (that is why it is a silent killer). In the past, high blood pressure was ‘reserved’ for people in their old age but like other diseases, the age brackets for these diseases are non-existent. Young men are suffering from high blood pressure and vice versa.

Blood pressure measures how strongly blood presses against the walls of your arteries (large blood vessels) as it is pumped around your body by your heart. If this pressure is too high it puts a strain on your arteries and your heart. When hypertension is advanced it can cause irregular heartbeat, headaches, rapid pulse, and shortness of breath, dizziness and vision problems or eventually heart failure. More women than men die of the complications of high blood pressure, which include kidney failure, heart failure, and stroke. That’s the bad news but the good news is blood pressure is preventable.

There is often no clear cause of high blood pressure but you are at increased risk if you:

  • Are overweight
  • Have a relative with high blood pressure
  • Are of African or Caribbean descent
  • Eat a lot of salt
  • Don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables
  • Don’t do enough exercise
  • Drink a lot of coffee (or other caffeine-based drinks)

You can take steps to prevent high blood pressure by:

  • Losing weight if you need to
  • Exercising regularly: If you feel lazy walking, go to the gym. You may find your ‘Mr or Miss Right’ there.
  • Eating a healthy diet: no junk business
  • Stopping smoking: On top of all the other dangers of smoking, the nicotine in tobacco products can raise your blood pressure. Avoid second hand smoke. Inhaling smoke from others also put you at risk of health problems
  • Cutting down on salt and caffeine:

Living a balanced Life: A life of balance requires sacrifice. Invest in things that have long-term value over short-term gain. We are like airplane- we can only hold so much luggage. If we get overloaded, we may go down. And despite our best efforts, when we take on too much, we don’t really do well at anything. In essence, to live in balance, we must minimise our load.

Let Go Of Alcohol: As much as you can, avoid drinking alcohol. Alcohol can be bad for your health. If you drink more of alcohol, it can actually raise your blood pressure by several points. If you are a heavy drinker, suddenly eliminating all alcohol can actually trigger severe high blood pressure for several days. It’s easier to taper off slowly.

Reduce Your Stress Level: Stress and anxiety can temporarily increase blood pressure. Think about what causes you to feel stressed, and then you can deal with it. If it’s your relationship – deal with the stressor, if finances, illness, work or family, consider how you can eliminate or reduce stress. If you can’t eliminate all of your stressors you can at least cope with them in a healthier way.

Slowing down may be unachievable but we can go with the speed without the ‘hyper’.



READ ALSO: Refused A UK Visa? CLICK HERE FOR HELP

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