Lower Your Blood Pressure Without Giving Anything Up

Don't stop now! Carry that spirit of helping others into the New Year. Your blood pressure -- and the rest of your health -- may depend on it.

Research shows that older people who feel happy and hopeful, have a sense of self-worth, and enjoy life -- all feelings that can come from helping people -- have lower blood pressure compared with their more pessimistic peers. Why? Good feelings can help reduce the effects of stress and prevent high blood pressure (and a whole cascade of other maladies).

If you weren't born with a "glass half full" outlook, you can cultivate one -- even when your job prospects, your bank account, and maybe even your spirits are a little bit (or a lot) low. Helping others is just one way. Try these, too:

• Say thanks. Once a week, think of someone who has had an effect on your life -- big or small -- and write them a note of gratitude. It not only makes them feel connected and healthy; some research shows that 15 minutes of daily gratitude can dramatically decrease stress hormones in your body, too.
• Create rituals. One reason religious services or music can be so uplifting is that the weekly rituals reinforce a healthy sense of community (and, interestingly, the more connected we feel, the higher our degree of generosity and compassion). Rituals don't need to be religious to be effective; you might be uplifted by nature walks with a group in your neighborhood or by a nightly dinnertime routine where everyone in your family shares something great that happened to them that day.