Do You Spend Enough Time Relaxing?

Find better ways to switch off, relax and improve your health

July 2020

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By Alex White, Dr. Nick Beard and Dr. Robert Ostfeld

Why does relaxation matter?

Ways that people sometimes relax – such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol or eating junk food – are linked to higher blood pressure. Developing healthier relaxation habits can help us avoid these kinds of activities, and so bring our readings down.

Getting Started

Turn off

Phone usage can cause us to stop connecting with our family and focusing on what’s most important. If you think you’re using your phone too much try setting some limits. Turn it off sometimes and disable as many beeps and notifications as you can. It may seem self-defeating, but you can also find apps to help you track and reduce your usage which some people find helpful.

Tune in

Music has been shown to have a significant impact on systolic blood pressure. it lifts our feelings and helps distract us from anxious thoughts. Plus, if you’re in the mood to dance, you’ll get some exercise too.

Get out

If you are doing something tough, stressful or boring step away for a few minutes for a walk, stretch or flick through a magazine. ‘make time for health or you’d better make time for sickness’ as the saying goes.

Breathe

Focusing on deeper breathing has been shown to bring blood pressure down. There are many techniques out there. Some are part of meditation programs while others are less formal relaxation techniques. The trick is to find what is right for you.

Meditate

Evidence shows meditation may have a small but significant impact on blood pressure. we recommend all our members give it a shot.

Prioritize quality sleep

Evidence also shows a clear link between the quality of our sleep and high blood pressure. if you think you this could be an issue for you, there are systematic ways to improve your sleep. You can learn more about them at www.crediblemind.com/topics/sleep.

Get creative

In the age of TV box sets it is easy to forget how hobbies can help us relax. If you used to play an instrument, why not pick it up again? If that’s not your thing what about cooking, art, home decorating or gardening? There is good evidence to suggest that these kinds of enjoyable leisure activities improve our mental and physical health.

Transport yourself

Most of us have been to places that we associate with calmness and relaxation: a beach, a forest, a church. If you’re feeling stressed, recall or imagine a place in your mind, then just close your eyes and ‘go there’.

Common Mistakes

The busyness trap

We sometimes celebrate being busy and confuse it with success. But such constant striving may come at a price. Just as airlines tell us to ‘put on your own mask before helping others’, you can often achieve more by slowing down and putting your own health first.

Social media

Social media sites can be fun, and they help us keep in touch with friends and relatives all over the world. But they’re also addictive and suck up time that could be used for things like meal preparation, exercise or spending time with people in person. Again, if you think this is you, set some limits. If you find you can’t stick to the limits, try going ‘cold turkey’ by removing the apps from your devices for a week. Many people never go back.

Tolerating negativity

Negative social interactions drive up our blood pressure. if you find you are regularly getting into arguments, or there are people whose company you often find stressful, don’t simply accept these situations. Ask yourself if there are ways you could avoid or change them.

Useful Resources

You can find a lot of useful videos, articles and other information on relaxation, sleep and related issues at crediblemind.com. Just hit the browse drop-down and try searching on topics like anxiety, meditation, stress, sleep or work-life balance. (for full disclosure, one of our co-founders was involved in launching this website – so we are biased, but we think you’ll agree it is one of the best resources out there.)

If apps are your thing here’s a list of some of the better ones for relaxation: Mindbody, 10% Happier, Sleep Cycle, Pzizz, 7 Cups, Calm and Headspace. If you’re looking for an app to help you monitor how much you are using your phone try: Offtime, Breakfree or Flipd.

Alex White and Dr. Nick Beard Co-Founded Brightplate.

Dr. Ostfeld is the Director of Preventive Cardiology at Montefiore Health System and a Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has an MD. form Yale University School of Medicine and an MSc. from Harvard School of Public Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.