What to do About that High Stress Lifestyle That Could Be Raising Your Blood Pressure

This description of a typical high-stress lifestyle may
sound familiar to you... very familiar...

You get up in the morning, and you're running late, so the
stress begins before you're even done eating breakfast. You
rush off to work, stressing about whether you'll make it to
work on time and then stressing about whether you'll get a
speeding ticket on the way and end up really late. When you
get to work, you're stressing about your job performance,
your demanding boss and whether you'll get that promotion.
When you're not stressing about your performance at work,
you're stressing about your son's performance in school. As
you're stressing over the traffic on the way home, you're
stressing about your upcoming vacation plans. Finally,
you're on your way out the door for vacation, but now
you've got airport and flying stress!

It seems like you can't avoid it. Out of the frying pan
into the fire, from one stress to the next you go. It may
even seem amusing on the surface, all these little things
stressing us out, but it's not a laughing matter at all.
Getting control over the stress in your life can be a
matter of life and death. If you're perpetually stressed
and you don't learn what to do about it, you could become a
prime candidate for high blood pressure - the silent killer.

Medical experts estimate that 90 percent of Americans will
have high blood pressure at some point in their lives. With
staggering statistics like this on their minds, researchers
from the University of Pittsburgh embarked on a 13-year
study to see if early-life stressors impacted someone's
future blood pressure levels.

Following more than 5,000 men and women between the ages of
18 and 30, the researchers studied the subjects'
cardiovascular activity through a series of rather unusual
tests, including submersing the subject's hands in ice cold
water and having them engage in stressful video games.

After taking each person's blood pressure, they
hypothesized that participants with the highest blood
pressure readings would be precursors to high readings
later in life. Thirteen years later, when the test results
were re-evaluated--you guessed it--a significant number of
those same participants had become hypertensive. The study
was published in the American Heart Association journal
Circulation.

So how do you go about minimizing your tendency towards
getting stressed? Is it even possible in today's fast
paced, information-overloaded and hectic society? The
answer is yes and you're about to learn how.

First, I'd like you to consider the fact that I'm not
suggesting that you stop everything you're doing. You don't
necessarily have to slow down, you simply need to calm
down. With that thought in mind, here are some action steps
you can take starting today, which will make a big
difference in keeping your stress levels under control, and
minimizing the negative effects of stress that cannot be
avoided.

(1) Exercise - Besides being good for your body, exercise
is good for your brain. Exercise stimulates the release of
endorphins, which make us feel happy, and at ease. It also
helps to increase the flow of blood in the brain, ridding
the mind of waste products that develop in the course of
stressful times when mental processes are in excess.
Furthermore, the more fit you are, the more you're able to
cope with events in life that bring about stress.

I recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of walking most days of
the week, gradually increasing to 45 minutes to 1 hour most
days of the week. A study published in the December 2005
issue of "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise"
concluded that walking on a treadmill for just 30 minutes
can boost your mood and feeling of well-being.

(2) Eat Regularly and Healthfully - Skipping meals is
probably the worst thing you can do for your health. Low
blood sugar levels that result from skipping meals not only
slow down the metabolism but slow down virtually every
system in the body. This in turn affects your ability to
think clearly and contributes to stressful feelings because
of hunger pangs.

Have a healthy breakfast for starters. One of my favorites
is one cup of slow cooked oats, (not instant oatmeal which
is loaded with preservatives) with banana, blueberries and
a tablespoon of lecithin granules (very effective for
lowering cholesterol). Avoid processed foods such as bacon
and sausage, which are high in fat and lack fiber and
nutrients. You should also eat small portions throughout
the day. This will keep your metabolic fire burning hot and
keep your blood sugar levels stable.

(3) Learn to Meditate - Research indicates that meditating
for less than 20 minutes a day is extremely conducive to
mental health and minimizing stress levels. The key is
finding the time to meditate and then sticking with it once
you start. A study published in the journal of
Psychosomatic Medicine concluded that a short program in
"mindfulness meditation" produced lasting positive changes
in both the brain and the function of the immune system.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison research team found
that meditation, long promoted as a technique to reduce
anxiety and stress, might produce important biological
effects that improve a person's resiliency.

There are many ways to meditate, but start by finding a
serene location, one where there are little to no
distractions, where you can separate yourself from the
world. Then, just like you see on television or in any
other place that illustrates meditation, sit upright with
your legs crossed and take long, deep breaths in and out.
Focus as much as you can on your breathing and try to not
let your mind wander. Be an observer; focus on your inner
self.

One of the reasons meditation is so effective at reducing
stress is because of the power of breathing properly. Go
ahead and try it - right now. Take a long, deep breath
through your nose... hold it, hold it.... Then slowly let
it out through your mouth, and say to your self, silently,
RELAX. Even with that one single breath, you felt a wave of
relaxation pass through your body as tension drained away.
Now imagine what a session of twenty, fifteen, ten or even
just five minutes per day, whatever you can manage, of deep
breathing meditation or guided relaxation will do for you.

The benefits of meditation are remarkable and this is not
just some mystical Eastern "new age" prattle - the
scientific research now proves it. One way to easily get
started with a meditation is with hypnosis audios. Did you
know that hypnosis sessions begin by using deep breathing
to induce a state of deep, deep relaxation? In fact, when
you "let go" and let a hypnotherapist guide you through it,
whether in person, or more conveniently, by listening to
audio, you automatically release tension, reduce stress and
reach a deeper state of profound relaxation than any other
way.

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Frank Mangano is a natural health expert and best selling
author who teaches you how to dramatically improve your
health naturally without expensive and potentially
dangerous prescription drugs. Download a special F-R-E-E 38
page report titled, "The Best Natural Ways to Lower Your
Blood Pressure, Reduce Your Waistline and Take Back Your
Health" by visiting: http://www.thesilentkillerexposed.com