Clench your first to lower your blood pressure
- Medication (when prescribed by your GP)
- Exercise
- Meditation
Researchers have discovered that clenching your fist helps too.
A new study has found that isometric resistance training (IRT) is an effective as aerobic exercise and dynamic resistance in controlling blood pressure levels if you’re hypertensive. Researchers from University of South Wales have discovered that squeezing your fist is safe and effective and its something everyone can do. Just 12 minutes a day for 2 or 3 days a week is enough to keep high blood pressure under control.
Although researchers used a specialised handgrip tests they think that a simple fist squeeze action could work just as well and could even be done while sitting down and watching TV.
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Is it time you considered a digital detox?
For those of your who don't know I have a background in IT. This means I am very comfortable with technology and love my smartphone. However I am for once a month to do a digital detox the reason is that I recognise that I live in an "always on" society. I am inundated on a daily basis with social media updates, text messages and emails. What's worse are "always on" society ecpects us to be contactable at all times and to respond immediatley. Its no surprise that research has found a link between heavy smarphone usage and increased anxiety. Did you know that smartphones are actually designed to distract us? They rob our brains of vitally important downtime preventing them from being creative. A digital detox allows my brain to reachage and focus on the present. No one needs to give you permission to go off grid for half a day and you don't need to feel guilty either. A digital detox can start simply as 45 minutes without using a smartphone, laptop, tablet or other device one evening a week and then build up slowly to a couple of hours. I find regular digital detox is hugely beneficial to my state of mind and can be easily incorporated into your routine. Reference https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4500888/

Is slouching that bad for you? – part 1
We spend the vast majority of our time in static positions — either sitting or standing — when the temptation to slump and sag is just too great. Most of us know from experience that sitting hunched in front of a computer or driving wheel can lead to a stiff, painful back and shoulders.
But in this blog article and the next three, I want to explain how poor posture can lead to other health problems . . . It may raise your blood pressure.... The usual risk factors for high blood pressure are age, being overweight, smoking and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. But scientists now think slouching may trigger it, too. This is because there is a link between neck muscles and the area of the brain that helps regulate blood pressure. In a study published in 2007, neuro-scientists at the University of Leeds found that when cells in the neck muscles sense the neck is moving, they send a signal to that area of the brain. The theory is that this helps ensure adequate blood supply when we change posture, for example from sitting to standing. But if the neck muscle cells become damaged or pressured through stooping and slumping, this could trigger problems with blood pressure, suggests Professor Jim Deuchars, the scientist who led the study. He adds that this might explain why some people who suffer whiplash injuries notice a change in their blood pressure — sometimes it’s higher, sometimes lower. ‘It’s possible that poor posture, which compresses the neck muscles, may be involved in high blood pressure, too, but more research is needed.’
Does abstinence improve sporting performance?
I know lots of my readers take part in sporting competitions and they always want to perform at their peak and win. So is it best to abstain the night before a competition? Certainly here is a myth that abstinence before sporting activities improves performance? But does it? Researchers at the University of Florence reviewed hundreds of studies to determine if there was any truth in the myth that abstinence helps performance. They found no evidence to support the myth that abstinence before a sporting competition improves performance. In addition they found no evidence that having sex the night before impairs performance the next day. They came across one study that found marathon runners did better the next day after having sex the night before. All sporting competitions are as much about the mind as the physical activity. So the impact of sex the night before on marathon runners may be psychological. Maybe that is why the organisers of the Rio Olympics distributed more than 450,000 condoms in the athletes' village during the 2016 Olympics. Reference Stefani Laura, Galanti Giorgio, Padulo Johnny, Bragazzi Nicola L., Maffulli Nicola, 2016, Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: A Systematic Review, Frontiers in Physiology, Vol 7, pg 246 http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2016.00246

