Have More Fun and Lower Your Blood Pressure

The intention for September was to HAVE MORE FUN.

We added this on top of the January  goal to practice yoga, the February goal to eliminate added sugar from our diet, the March goal to meditate, the April goal to drink tea, the May goal to eat salmon, the July goal to workout more and the August goal to supplement with magnesium. (We rested in June, under strict orders from the universe.)

This seems like another break doesn’t it? Of course it does. And what’s wrong with that? What is it about the American lifestyle that makes us opposed to breaks? Or fun, for that matter?

Here’s what we know: laughter lowers blood pressure, according to multiple studies, but here’s one from the European Society of Cardiology.

And also, I just felt like, after the past two years of living through a pandemic, a little fun was CALLED FOR.

As a mom, I find it difficult to balance my own sense of fun with the responsibilities of working full time, making sure the kids are fed, bathed, educated and nurtured and keeping up with a side hustle (this blog).

Raising kids has a unique affect on one’s ability to have fun because, for the most part, we tend to focus on their sense of fun. We take vacations to theme parks and beaches, but we allow them to dictate what rides to go on, and what we do. All the while, we dutifully make sure they are drinking enough water and wearing enough sunscreen.

These are fun moments for us, too. Nothing brings as much joy as watching your children experience something for the first time and break out into giggles.

But sometimes, in the middle of making sure our kids are provided with opportunities, we lose sight of what we find truly fun. On our own, outside of that family dynamic.

I’ve found myself wondering recently: What did I find fun BEFORE I had kids? Reading and writing, obviously, and hanging out with friends. I enjoyed tennis and the theatre – both watching and participating – and dancing. Some of my fondest memories are going to various clubs and dancing all night with friends.

Three Days a Week

So. This month, I focused on doing the things I find fun more often. I set a goal of FUN three times per week. Because that’s been my rule throughout this experiment. Every goal is implemented with a three-days-per-week mantra. (With a few exceptions.) Because doing something every day is daunting. And the goal of this is to make LONG TERM change. Sustainable change. And, for me, I don’t feel like hitting my goals every day is sustainable. I’m giving myself a break, so I don’t get burned out.

Sometimes FUN TIME was as simple as taking 30 minutes to myself and lying on the sofa to read, or dancing on my own in the kitchen while making dinner. But there were a number of other things we did this month that we hadn’t done in a long time. I spent one beautiful morning hitting some garage sales with my mom, which is always a great time. I drank smoothies with my writing partner on a patio. I visited a gorgeous market a friend opened during the pandemic and I hadn’t had the chance to see yet. And my husband and I went to an outdoor concert.

All of these things came with a measure of risk, but my youngest son was old enough to start his vaccination path and he still has antibodies in his system from having the virus last month, so our ability to open back up to the world has expanded a bit. (Speaking of my son having COVID-19, it’s been a rough few months in our house. We reallllllly needed some fun.)

Also, the concert we went to was the Counting Crows. I was nervous because of the CROWD. But they required vaccination status at the gate. So that made me feel better. And there was a mix up with our tickets and the box office rewarded our troubles by giving us 11th row seats! I could look into the EYES of Adam Duritz. Also. So much dancing!

Results

So, what did all this fun do for my blood pressure?

It was a mixed bag.

My average blood pressure for September was 128/89 with a resting heart rate of 68.

My Systolic pressure (the amount of pressure in the arteries during the contraction of your heart muscle) came down by 4 millimetre of mercury (mm Hg) during the month of August, and is down a whopping 26 mm Hg since December 2020.

My Diastolic pressure (the amount of pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats) actually went up this month, by 5 mm Hg, but is still down by 16 mm Hg since the start of this experiment. 

My heart rate (the number of times the heart beats per minute while at rest) held steady in September, but is a total 11 bpm under the December 2020 average. 

While I haven’t met any new goals, I am still in Stage 1 Hypertension, according to the American Heart Association recommendations. When I started this experiment, I was in Stage 2. My goal is to get to Normal by the end of the year.

While my Systolic pressure is already at the next stage down (the Elevated range), my Diastolic pressure is what is keeping me in Stage 1. I do have some more supplementation planned for the next couple of months, and I’m hoping that will have a positive impact on my Diastolic pressure.

Stay tuned for that.