Here’s the biggest lie we’ve been told about stress: All stress is bad! The truth is, there’s another kind of stress – Known as “eustress,” this positive stress response can actually feel incredible. (And be really healthy for you, too!) You might feel this “good stress” when you watch a scary movie, exercise, or when you anticipate traveling to a new place. Here’s the tricky thing with “good stress” though… It’s only considered good if you get it in short bursts. You see, more than just a little eustress ends up being virtually the same as distress. And if you’ve experienced this unpleasant stress (and who hasn’t!), you know how exhausting that feeling is: Your blood pressure and heart rate increase and it’s hard to turn down the “volume” on how all-consuming it is. Worse still, this kind of stress can have devastating effects on your heart health. But with stress being such a normal part of life, is there anything you can do? On today’s blog, I’m sharing how stress, blood pressure, and heart health all fit together… Plus what the experts recommend for managing stress and maintaining steady blood pressure and a healthy heart. |