How Chronic Stress Can Lead to Varicose Veins

varicose-veins-stress

We live in a stressful world. While technology, in many ways, has made life easier, it has also created increased stress because having a mobile phone makes you always available. If work needs you, they can call you at any hour of the night—or even on your vacation. That flashing light signaling new work emails is hard to ignore when you first wake up. And people are incredibly impatient about getting responses to text messages, so when you hear the notification, you stop what you’re doing and look at your phone.

This demand to be available no matter what you’re doing creates stress, and over long periods of time, stress can be detrimental to your health. Stress can have significant impacts on your vascular system, causing high blood pressure, heart disease, and even varicose veins. Increased blood pressure can weaken vein walls and make varicose veins more likely to appear, and not having time to exercise or eat properly can cause weight gain that results in venous disease.

To avoid developing varicose veins as a result of stress, it’s important to take steps to de-stress your life.

Leave Work at Work

If you have access to your work email on your personal phone, you may be tempted to check in on work emails at night after dinner, first thing in the morning, and even over the weekend or while you’re on vacation. However, if work is stressful, reading work emails during your downtime is sure to set you on edge. Consider getting a separate work phone if you need to be able to check work emails on a mobile device, and when you’re off of work, leave your phone in your work bag or at the office.

Make Time to Exercise

Nothing melts away a stressful work day like a session of strenuous exercise. It’s impossible to focus on work issues when you’re pushing your body to do more than it thinks it’s capable of. Additionally, exercise will wear you out, making it easier to fall asleep at night instead of lying in bed worrying about work.

Prepare Food for the Week Over the Weekend

If you find yourself eating a lot of fast food during the week because you’re too tired or busy to cook, consider taking one day every weekend to prepare some microwavable food for the upcoming week. Soups, stews, and chili are just as good reheated and take only a couple of minutes to warm up, making them a healthier and quicker alternative to the fast food drive thru.

If Existing Varicose Veins Are Causing You Stress

If you’re already suffering from varicose veins, your damaged veins may actually be a big cause of your stress. However, it doesn’t have to be. Many treatment options are available that can completely eliminate your varicose veins so you don’t have to suffer with them or stress over them any longer. To find out how much it may cost to eradicate your varicose veins, use our cost calculator to get a quote.

Published on: 4 November 2016
Posted by: Editorial Team