High Blood Pressure
It is estimated that 1 in 4 Americans have high blood pressure or hypertension.
The latest guidelines say that blood pressure should be below 120/80 and
physicians are recommending blood pressure medication for blood pressure
above 140/90.
So what is blood pressure and why is it important? And, why are we discussing
blood pressure in relationship to relaxation training?
First, blood pressure is the pressure of the blood as it moves within your
body's vascular system. Your blood pressure is determined by a
complex interaction of many organs in your body such as your heart, the
diameter of your blood vessels, kidney function and your autonomic nervous
system. There is an optimum blood pressure but in actuality your blood pressure
fluctuates throughout the day, depending on your stress and activity
levels. Problems arise when your blood pressure
remains above normal over a period of time, damage can begin to
occur to your vascular system and other organ systems and result
in eye and kidney damage, stroke, heart attack and other serious
problems. Usually there are no sensations associated with high
blood pressure, though some people report being able to sense when
their blood pressure is high.
There are certainly medical treatments for high blood pressure and anyone
with hypertension needs to work with their physician to treat their
high blood pressure in ways that are best for them. It is, however,
important to note that it is possible to affect high blood pressure
by lifestyle changes. Increased exercise, lowered caffeine intake,
weight loss and relaxation training have all been shown to have
a positive effect on blood pressure. By utilizing one or all of
these positive lifestyle strategies it may be possible to improve
your blood pressure. There are some indications that just by taking
your blood pressure on a regular basis you can have a positive
effect on normalizing your blood pressure.
The RESPeRATE is
the only biofeedback device, approved by the FDA to lower blood pressure. Studies
done with the RESPeRATE show
that it is possible to lower your blood pressure by 15 points which
is significant in efforts to manage blood pressure. The RESPeRATE works
on a simple but effective strategy, it guides you to lower your
respiration rate below 10 breaths a minute. Clinical trials using
the RESPeRATE have
shown that by lowering the rate of respiration below 10 breaths
a minute on a daily basis positive changes in blood pressure
can be achieved.
So why not sit at home, listen to music and lower your rate of respiration?
You can do this, and it helps to have a device like the RESPeRATE that
can monitor the process for you. In fact, slower respiration is
the method of relaxation we use in many of our courses and it forms
the basis of much of Qigong, the Chinese breathing exercises that
promote better health. The advantage of using the RESPeRATE is
that it helps distract your mind from 'trying
too hard'.
It helps you pace your breath through the use of music. The tempo
of the music changes with the in and out breaths and gradually
guides you to slower breathing, impacting your blood pressure levels. |
