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How A High Stress Lifestyle Could Be
Raising Your Blood Pressure...
And What You Should Do About It
By Frank Mangano, Author of
The Silent Killer Exposed |
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 that 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.
Hypnosis is not a magic bullet, but when you combine it with the other
essential lifestyle change factors that I write about every week in this
newsletter, the results will amaze you. I'd like to offer you a chance
to try this type of stress reducing hypnosis session absolutely free so
you can see for yourself how well it works.
My e-book about reducing your blood pressure, called "The Silent Killer Exposed" comes with a special bonus MP3 audio by hypnotherapist Kent
Sayre. After Kent has guided you down into a deep state of total
physical relaxation and you're feeling deeply relaxed, he will then give
you suggestions that will help you eliminate feelings of stress, even
after the session is over.
The best part really is that you do nothing but lie back, slip on your
headphones, pop in the audio program, listen and relax as tension and
stress melt away. The hypnosis technology takes care of everything else!
This is a must-have product for every person who experiences daily
stress and as you can imagine, it's very valuable. Kent charges hundreds
for private sessions and his stress reduction audio programs sell for
$19.99 and up, but I'd like you to have the stress reduction program for
free.
Here's what to do to get your copy of the stress reduction-relaxation
hypnosis audio. Simply purchase a copy of
The Silent Killer Exposed ebook, and you'll also receive the stress reduction audio program
absolutely F-R-E-E with my compliments. The program comes with a
no-risk, money back satisfaction guarantee.
To get your copy of The Silent Killer Exposed AND the complimentary
stress reduction hypnosis audio, just go to:
www.thesilentkillerexposed.com
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. Here’s 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:”
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