All About Men: Work Buddies Can Be Life Savers
Are you a man with a never-satisfied boss, cranky clients, and a mile-long to-do list?
Time for the buddy system. Constant job strain is a major blood pressure booster in men (less so in women, for some reason). But having a few hang-in-there cronies helps offset the effect. Time for a group hug (or at least lunch with your office favorites).
Gender Bender
In a study of white-collar workers, work stress had a major impact on men's blood pressure, but it seemed to have less impact on the blood pressure of women. Regardless, male or female, the effect of job stress on blood pressure was negligible when there were commiserating coworkers around.
Tame the Tension
Just like the daily grind of the office wears you down, the constant force of high blood pressure against the walls of your arteries can wear out their elasticity. The more pressure, the faster the elastic goes. Not what you want, because flexible arteries are less vulnerable to nicks, tears, and other signs of wear that come with aging.
Beat Stress on the Cheap
Just breathe right. Here's how.
RealAge Benefit:
Keeping your blood pressure at 115/76 mm Hg can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger.
Effects of job strain on blood pressure: a prospective study of male and female white-collar workers. Guimont, C., Brisson, C., Dagenais, G. R., Milot, A., Vezina, M., Masse, B., Moisan, J., Laflamme, N., Blanchette, C., American Journal of Public Health 2006 Aug;96(8):1436-1443.
