Updated September 24, 2014.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

In other posts I have written about being able to measure what your blood pressure is doing continuously over a 24 hour basis to help better formulate a management plan to not only help your blood pressure but also to (hopefully) improve the quality of your life. When you have ambulatory blood pressure monitoring done, not only does your doctor get a readout of all of your blood pressures for the past 24 hours, s/he also reads the diary that you fill out recording the events of the day., ie, when you feel stressed, angry, or exercising, arguing with a loved one or colleague...you get the picture.

 

Over the past decade, I have seen some blood pressure readings be dramatically high at work. I am talking the top number or systolic blood pressure readings in 180-200 range and bottom number (the diastolic blood pressure) in the 90-100 range. When reviewing the accompanying diary/day journal, I would see the following: "attending a meeting,"  "working late,"   "skipping lunch," "attending yet another !!##! meeting." The accompanying times when their blood pressure was elevated mimicked the times when they were participating in the above happenings. Think about this for a second: if the average adult started to work in their late teenage years and works until the retirement age of 67, that it at least 45-50 years in the workforce. If the above is happening on a daily basis, what do you think is the end result forty years later? By the time retirement hits you may  be at risk for developed (or may have developed already) some of the complications of uncontrolled high blood pressure. 

Before I go any further, I do not live in a glass tower.

I know what it is like to work 16-18 hour days, get less than ideal sleep and have to pick up and get moving the next day. The thing is this: I never paid attention to what my blood pressure was doing at work. I would want to know if my blood pressure was going this sky-high at work. It would make me think; I would want to know if I was unable to get out of my job situation (which is more common than not) what I could do to improve my condition. This is because it is important to not only think about yourself as you are at this point, but also how you will be (want to be) two or three decades from now. 

Here are five things you can do to reduce stress at work:

1) Take a bathroom break: If you are in a stressful meeting or work related situation, nothing gives you a breather like taking a bathroom break. It gives you time to collect yourself and breathe and take that break that you may not have had the opportunity to take prior. 

2) Learn how to employ meditative breathing: Learning how to employ meditative breathing can help you decrease the intensity of the work stressor. I use this at work at various times during the day. Here is the one thing no one tells you about this type of breathing: you have to practice it to get good at it so that it becomes second nature to you.

3) Make it a "walking lunch" instead of a "working lunch": Eat outside, get some sunshine; change your immediate environment. Where I work people have gotten together to form "walking groups." They walk at lunchtime; even fifteen minutes is better than nothing. Find out what works for you to help "maximize your lunch time."

4) Change Your Immediate Workspace: If you are allowed (many companies are flexible with this); change what you see in front of you. Studies show that positive visual imagery can decrease stress levels. Put a picture of something or someone what brings you joy on your screen saver on your computer  and/or cell phone. Pictures of family members and pets can be awesome reminders of the great people in our lives and put a smile on your face at the same time.

5) Add Some Odoriferous Emanations: By this I am not implying that you should wear deodorant. I mean that adding something like lavender oil or another pleasant scent can also be a great stress reliever. Don't forget that your nose can be a great stress reliever! Aromatherapy can do wonders to improve well-being and reduce stress.