Nwamaka Osakwe With about 1.4 billion people living with hypertension, you probably know someone with high blood pressure also known as hypertension. Or perhaps you have hypertension. It’s easy to trivialize hypertension because it’s so common and because drugs are available for treatment, but we shouldn’t.
We know a lot about high blood pressure. We know it can lead to heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. You’d think most people have their blood pressure under control. The truth is that despite all we know about hypertension only 1 in 5 persons with hypertension have their blood pressure under control, and hypertension is the leading cause of death. It’s therefore important to control our risk of developing hypertension.
Unfortunately, certain risks such as a family history of hypertension cannot be modified. But risks like smoking, alcohol intake, inactivity and body weight can be modified.
So, are you increasing your risk of developing hypertension? It may not be easy to answer this question, but if you take a moment to consider all the things you eat, drink and do in a day then it is possible you are increasing your risk of hypertension or worsening already existing hypertension.
In this blog post, you will learn about behaviours that put you at risk for hypertension as a freelancer and how you can lower your chances of developing high blood pressure.
What is hypertension?
Hypertension is an elevated blood pressure of 140/90mmHg or higher. Some authorities propose a lower value of 130/80mmHg. It is incredibly important to keep your blood pressure within normal values because high blood pressure damages the brain, eyes, heart, kidneys and blood vessels.
Freelance risk factors
Reduced activity level:
A sedentary lifestyle has long been linked with hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The New York State Department of Health says “less active, less fit persons have a 30-50 percent greater risk of developing high blood pressure”.
With hours spent at the desk doing research and cranking out words, freelance writing is the prototype description of a sedentary job. Although it may feel impossible to fit exercise into your super busy schedule it is doable. Here are some tips from other freelancers trying to keep active despite the job.
- Exercise first thing in the morning: This may be a quick jog around the block or a 20-minute routine while watching an exercise video. Some freelancers carve out 30 minutes to one hour every morning 3-6 times a week to exercise. Do something active before you even open your laptop, and you may find that it makes you feel invigorated all day long. One advantage of exercising in the morning is that you don’t get distracted. Sometimes, when you push off exercising until later in the day, you may never get to it.
- Exercise during writing breaks: This may mean taking a quick walk around the house every hour. If it’s not convenient to leave your desk, you can still get in some great activity by doing simple exercises like push-ups beside your seat. These short breaks are a great way to rest your eyes too. Some people write/research for 30-45 minutes and then take 5-15 minute break to exercise. One freelancer talks about using an exercise ball when she is researching. It’s easy to take ten minutes here and there throughout the day and get some activity while still being productive.
- Take up an active hobby: Some freelancers carve out time during the day, often between 11am and 1pm but some others at the close of work. You could register at a gym and exercise for an hour. You could also buddy up and try things like lawn tennis, biking, hiking, dancing or mountain climbing.
Healthy eating
A diet low in salt and unsaturated fat has been shown to lower blood pressure, and high salt consumption is linked to developing and exacerbating hypertension.
When the deadlines hit, many freelancers resort to fast foods and unhealthy snacks such as chips that are high in salts and fats. The fact is you can make your healthy snacks and meals, so you’re not tempted to buy junk food or eat out.
No one expects you to be a gourmet chef on top of everything else you’ve got going on. But with the help of a few hacks, it is possible to eat healthy even when you are busy. Try the following tips
- Make your meals ahead of time: You can cook your meals ahead of time and freeze them to be reheated during those crazy hours. Another option is to cook more than you need and store the leftover for another meal.
- Look for easy recipes online There are tons of recipes online that are easy and quick to make, so you can spend less time in the kitchen. Look for ones that don’t require a bunch of ingredients or prep work. You are more likely to take ten minutes to whip up a simple meal than spend an hour cooking when swamped with work.
- Plan your meals ahead of time: Thinking about what to cook can be overwhelming when it’s so much easier to pull out your phone and make an order. Planning what you’re going to eat each week will help you make sure you have all the ingredients you need, so there’s no excuse not to cook. It will also help prevent extra trips to the grocery store, which means less impulse buying of unhealthy snacks and other junk food. You can also prepare some of your ingredients ahead of time such as cooking meat and cutting vegetables.
- Load up on healthy snacks: We all get hungry between meals, which is why we should always have healthy snacks around. Fruit and vegetables are excellent snacks—keep them in your house so that if you get hungry between meals, you have something nutritious on hand. For people who like crunchy snacks, you can try carrots, apples and peanuts.
- Don’t stock up unhealthy snacks: Avoid having unhealthy snacks in the house. If it’s not there, It’s not there. When you stock your pantry with unhealthy snacks, it’s harder to resist the temptation when hunger strikes.
The great thing is that healthy eating will help you lose weight if you are overweight or obese, and weight loss will further help you in lowering your cardiovascular risk
Other factors
- Stress: Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, and this causes a short term increase in blood pressure. Identify and reduce areas of stress like poor sleep, too much work, impending deadlines. You can learn more about how to reduce stress as a freelance writer here.
- Smoking: If you smoke, it’s best to quit since it increases your risk for hypertension and many other diseases. It’s not easy to quit smoking on your own, so you may need the help of professionals
- Alcohol: If you like to cool off with more than 2 drinks of alcohol in a day you should reconsider. Most guidelines recommend 2 drinks per day at most.
Bottom line
Life as a freelancer can be stressful, fast-paced and full of distractions, so it’s easy to convince yourself that you don’t have time for fitness or wholesome eating habits. But if you believe this, then you’re selling yourself short. Make healthy lifestyle choices—they won’t just benefit your body; they’ll make you healthier and more productive as a freelance writer.
