What Can Be Done Right Now To Relieve Stress, Anxiety & Blood Pressure? There’s so much going on that could be causing you to have levels of stress, anxiety, or high blood pressure.
What’s Causing You Stress, Anxiety, & Raising Your Blood Pressure
The pandemic would be enough to cause stress, anxiety, and raise your blood pressure. There have been over six million cases in America with 200, 679 deaths. However, there are other things going on too. rWe have had several hurricanes, including hurricane Sally that hit Gulf Shores, Alabama, this morning. Hurricane Teddy and storm Vicky are still out there headed this way. We are fortunate that so far, the hurricanes have not had the suspected impact on lives and property. Hopefully, that will be the case today as well.
We have drama in the news every day leading up to the election. It’s getting really scary out there no matter which side you are on. I’m not going to get political here, but I will say that all this might be causing all of us an amount of undue anxiety, stress, and elevated blood pressure.
So what can you do to reduce stress, anxiety, and your blood pressure while trying to avoid medication treatment? Let me be clear; there is nothing wrong with taking medication for any condition when you need medication. But, try to consider these things or first, unless you and your doctor decide that medication is best.
What are the 5 Things That Can Reduce Stress, Anxiety, & Blood Pressure
These are the five things you can do right now to reduce stress, anxiety, and blood pressure. I will tell you exactly what to do.
1) Walk and deep breathing
2) Apple Cider Vinegar & lemon juice
3) B Vitamins
4) Magnesium
5) Vitamin D
Walk
First on the list is to walk at least 20 minutes in the morning before work and 20 minutes at lunchtime. Focus your mind on your breathing while you walk to have the best impact. It’s important to set your smartphone alarm and put this on your calendar and get your clothes and shoes ready at your bedside before going to bed at night. This way, you can roll out the bed, put on your clothes, and head out for your walk. Of course, you will do your morning routine after you get your clothes on.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Next, apple cider vinegar has been shown to be effective in reducing blood pressure. This stuff is not for the faint at heart if you take it without diluting. But, you want to dilute it to prevent the very strong offensive flavor and to prevent it from damaging your teeth.
Here is what type of apple cider to get and how to take it. Combine 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) of organic raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother, and 1 tablespoon of an organic lemon juice. Add ingredients to 4 ounces of warm water and stir well. Drink up and it will lower your blood pressure. You will notice that it doesn’t taste bad at all. The lemon juice is loaded with vitamen C, which is useful to increase your potassium to flush excessive salt from your body.
If this recipe does not taste good, use one teaspoon of raw organic honey instead of the lemon juice. If this does not help to reduce your blood pressure, try to double the dose. Try 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water.
Stress or Anxiety could cause epigastric pain or heartburn. Many people take protein pump inhibitors or PPIs for GERD or heartburns with significant relief. However, certain medication guidelines have recommended that people 65 years or older avoid the purple pill and similar medication. Apple cider vinegar can help resolve GERD instantly and will improve your symptoms, over time, to resolve the irritation.
Useful for reducing blood pressure. Lemons are not all about vitamin C and fiber. They also boast potassium, which is vital for flushing excessive sodium from the body.
B Vitamins
Fast food, junk food, or stress could cause a depletion in b vitamins. You can eat foods high in vitamin b to reduce stress and help give you more energy. Vitamin B3 can improve your energy, cholesterol, and more. Eat more fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts, and fish will give you all you need, but if not, use a supplement. A deficiency in vitamin B1 can particularly cause anxiety, depression, and irritability. Many doctors have recommended nutritional yeast for their patients to resolve vitamin B 1 deficiency. They recommend non-GMO nonenriched nutritional yeast, particularly Braggs brand.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a necessary nutrient, and many people are deficient. Research has shown an association between stress and depleted magnesium. Therefore, it is important to replace your magnesium with magnesium-rich foods or supplements. Without enough magnesium, you may suffer from anxiety, depression, and spasms. Magnesium helps to relax the blood vessles, and some people even take it as a sleeping pill.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a hormone that we all need to stay healthy. Without enough vitamin D, you could become anxious, stressed, or depressed. The mechanism is not clear, but vitamin D deficiency could cause a build-up of large amounts of inflammation in your body.
Exposure to sunlight at least 10 minutes a day is the best way to get vitamin D. Nevertheless, people with dark skin tend to absorb less vitamin D from the sunlight than someone of light skin. Therefore, vitamin D supplements are likely necessary for brown-skinned people like me to get enough. Anywhere from 500 iu to 5000 iu a day is recommended based on your vitamin D level.
You will likely have to take vitamin D daily to maintain a good level of 60-80. Everybody is different so be sure to ask your doctor about what type and dosage of vitamin D you might need. But just know that daily dosing has been shown to be better than weekly or monthly dosing. Vitamin D2, the inactive form of D, is usually prescribed by your doctor. Vitamin D3 is the active form of vitamin D, and you can get it for any drug store.
Conclusion
Whatever you do, don’t suffer in silence if you are having trouble with stress, anxiety, and high blood pressure. You can try one or all five of these things to reduce your stress, anxiety, and blood pressure. This is not medical advice; so, contact your doctor or healthcare provider for advice. If these tips are approved by your doctor or healthcare provider, try them before considering adding medication. What do you have to lose?
Download this free cheat sheet from an experienced psychiatrist for more information here.
Resources
Nilolaev, M.V., (2012). Influence of external magnesium ions on the NMDA receptor channel block by different types of organic cation. Neuropharmacology, 62,(5–6), 2078-2085
Kelley, L., Sanders, A. F. P. & Beaton, E. A. (2018). Vitamin D deficiency, behavioral atypicality, anxiety, and depression in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. J Dev Orig Health Dis, 7(6),616–625.doi: 10.1017/S2040174416000428
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453013001121
