Minor raised blood pressure can easily be controlled by simple lifestyle changes, taking some exercise and no its not neccessary to take out a gym membership, brisk walking, taking the stairs rather than the lift, walking instead of driving. Loosing some weight, cutting out fatty foods, stopping smoking and cutting down on alcohol.
Now we know that the Sympathetic Nervous System increases blood pressure, so designed to help us survive in danger, though we no longer have the same dangers today as we did in evolution and we know the body can't differentiate between modern stressors and those centuries ago. Modern stressors tend to go on for long periods of time, this is bad for us, so to combat the effects of the SNS we need to "fool" the body into believing the stress is over and triggering the Parasympathetic Nervous System. The PSN reverses all the effects of the SNS, so therefore blood pressure will fall, the heart rate will slow down, respirations will become slower and deeper, blood will begin flowing to the extremities such as the skin and hair this is due to adrenaline no longer being produced as adrenaline causes vaso contraction (arterioles tiny arterial vessels narrow, this causes a rise in blood pressure as the volume of blood has less of an area in which to flow, blood is diverted from the skin and hair) and the digestive system will start functioning properly.
Many types of therapies can instigate the PSN one of the simplest and cheapest, as it needs no financial outlay is Meditation. Some people may find meditation difficult as it does take a bit of mind discipline as the idea is to empty your mind of current thoughts and you do get better with practice. By training in meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to control our mind regardless of the external circumstances. Gradually we develop mental equilibrium, a balanced mind that is happy all the time, rather than an unbalanced mind that oscillates between the extremes of excitement and despondency. If we train in meditation systematically, eventually we will be able to eradicate from our mind the delusions that are the causes of all our problems and suffering. In this way, we will come to experience a permanent inner peace. There are many ways to learn the art of meditation, you can join a class and meditate within a group and by being part of a group it does help and you can discuss any difficulties you may experience but equally a cheaper option is to use a guided mediation CD and this is very effective, remember practice makes perfect. Meditation instills an inner calm so effectively you are working on the Hypothalamus, the area of moods and emotions within the brain, by practicing meditation you trigger the PSN. There are a number of articles on Meditation included 'A guided meditation' on my site here.
Any kind of massage will also trigger the PSN, it does this in the following ways. Massage stimulates blood flow to the surface of the skin due to the specialised cells within the Dermis, Mast cells, to release Histamine, what histamine does is to cause vaso dilation (the tiny arteries arterioles to dilate) this means that the blood is able to flow over a wider area over the body to the skin, this then takes the strain of the heart and reduces blood pressure. The skin and hair will of course will get a better blood supply so increased nourishment for them.
When we are stressed we inadvertedly tense up our muscles particularly in the area of the neck and upper back, this can lead to tension headaches, by working on the muscles in massage you ease the tension so this can ease those tension aches and aches in the neck and back.
Whenever we touch one another there is an exchange of energy, think back to childhood when you fell over, didn't your mother rubbing or kissing the affected area feel better. Touch is fundamental and massage has been practised as a therapy from ancient times, it is comforting and healing. Massage comforts and soothes, eases tension stimulates peripheral blood flow, this stimulates the PSN.
With Aromatherapy massage it works in two ways, the massage alone is beneficial as I have described but the use of certain essential oils affect the body by evoking a reaction in the hypothalamus via the limbic system (specialsed nerve cells within the upper portion of the nose pick up the tiny molecules of the essential oils these cells are connected to the hypothalamus. The other way essential oils work is by absorption through the skin into the blood stream whereby the can also evoke a reaction in the hypothalamus as well as being the home of moods and emotions it maintains homeostasis in the body. Different essential oils create different effects in the body and most of them do relax the body but there are those that can raise the blood pressure such as Hysop, Rosemary, Sage and Thyme, these have a stimulating effect.
In the next article I will explain how other holistic therapies work and further ways of dealing with stress.
