Blood Pressure and Lifestyle Habits

Basics of Blood Pressure

When reading blood pressure, upper number is called systolic blood pressure and lower number is called diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure is amount of pressure in arteries during the contraction of heart muscles. Diastolic blood pressure is pressure in your arteries between the heart beats. Normally, when you look at your heart rate systolic blood pressure is larger number compared with diastolic blood pressure. So if you have blood pressure reading of 120/80, 120 is systolic blood pressure and 80 is diastolic blood pressure.

Blood Pressure Readings

According to American Heart Association, normal blood pressure reading is 120/80. When blood pressure reading becomes 130/80 and above, it is considered high blood pressure or hypertension. When blood pressure increases higher than 180/120 this is considered hypertensive crisis and requires immediate medical attention.

Causes of High Blood Pressure

There are several factors that elevate the blood pressure.

First one is stress. When stress level is high, body will turn on Sympathetic Nervous System, or "Fight-or-Flight" system, which causes our heart rate to increase and get ready to deal with whatever the stress factor is. Recently though, it is common for this sympathetic nervous system is chronically turned on and people are having difficulty turning it off. Because of that, blood pressure seem to rise above the norm.

Second factor is sleep deprivation. This is correlated with stress, however, majority of times people are sleep deprived on purpose. Human body does require at least 7-8 hours of sleep. However, because of the busy lifestyle, some people argue that 4-6 hours are enough. When you look at sleep studies, when people are sleep deprived by 1 hour, immune system can drop by 70% and case of heart attack increases by 24% during spring time with daylight saving time.

Third is dehydration. Water makes up of 90% of the blood volume. However, when you are chronically dehydrated, blood volume goes down, and heart has to work harder to circulate proper amount of blood volume through the body. Also, when you are low in salt intake, especially when you are exercising or following low carbohydrate diet, your blood volume also can get lower. Drinking more water is important, however, it is also important to balance out your minerals.

Fourth is sugar. High blood pressure was said to be correlated with high intake of salt and has been educated by the health organization and professional to minimize salt intake to lower the blood pressure. Although lowering salt intake does lower the blood pressure by few points, however, heart rate seems to increase due to the low blood volume issue addressed in dehydration issue. Similar white crystal called sugar has been known to increase blood pressure way before salt or even fat became culprit. Sugar can cause the blood to become stickier and harder for the body to transport. Therefore, heart has to work harder to send the blood throughout the body.

Fifth is stimulants including, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, drugs and so on. Some stimulants may seem to be calming the body, however, they do affect on the brain, kidney, liver, stomach and urinary tract which causes abnormal blood pressure, sleep deprivation, compromised immunity, obesity, diabetes and so on.

Eating Habits to Regulate Blood Pressure

We do have life to live and enjoy. Just because we want to be healthy, that does not mean we need to restrict ourselves and not able to enjoy life. However, there should be some restriction. Such as, only drink alcohol on weekend or have cup of coffee by noon. Outside of that you should work on improving your overall diet.

First is drinking more water. Yes, I'm aware that it is boring but it is vital. See if you can work up to drinking about 70 oz of water per day. If you are following low carbohydrate diet, intermittent fasting, or time restricted feeding, it is important to consume more salt to your diet for better water retention. Ideally, sea, Celtic, Himalayan salts would be ideal. You don't need to add to the water but to add to your food.

Second is eat more natural food sources. We all know that consuming fast food, overly processed food and sugary beverages can cause not only high blood pressure but all kinds of health issues. However by consuming more natural food sources such as, vegetables, seafood, animal products, can help improve your health including regulating the blood pressure. Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach, cabbage, kale, arugula, mizuna, watercress are all great source of vitamins and minerals to keep the blood clean so circulation will be more smoother, which keeps the blood pressure regulated.

Third is practice eating slow and satisfied. With busy lifestyle it is understandable for us to be eating fast and instead of eating enough, we have a tendency to overeat. Even if you are eating healthy food, over consumption can cause stress to the digestive system and may lead to high blood pressure. Spend at least 15 minutes per meal and when you feel you had enough food, put your fork and spoon down and keep the left over for later on.

Fourth is improving your sleep. Even if you are fine with 4-6 hours of sleep, for optimal functioning, our body need at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Quantity is important but so does the quality of sleep. Keeping your sleeping schedule consistent is very vital. After all, we are creature of habit and our body likes to be that way. Have a set schedule for going to bed and time to get out of the bed. Improving quality and quantity of your sleep will help regulate your blood pressure by keeping your stress hormone in balanced.

If you are currently taking blood pressure medication, great! But have a plan to get off from there. Yes, there may be a genetic factor involved to your condition but check you daily habits. How are you doing? There is nothing wrong with taking blood pressure medication but if you want an alternative, you should start practicing.

Kota Shimada