The Link Between Stress and Varicose Veins

Anxiety and tension can wreak havoc inside your mind and body. If left untreated, stress can quickly transform a healthy and hearty person into someone suffering from mental, physical, and emotional health problems. One of these crucial physical issues can manifest itself in the form of varicose veins.

Americans are feeling more stressed than ever. In fact, a recent study found that 75% of adults report experiencing high levels of stress and that their stress has gotten worse over the last year.

While stress doesn’t directly cause varicose veins, it can promote habits that worsen vein symptoms. That’s why it’s crucial to keep your stress under control.

Here are some of the negative effects that stress can have on your veins

Can Stress Cause Circulation Issues?

The biggest dilemma that a combination of stress and vein health brings along is poor circulation. Stress causes your blood pressure to rise, thus increasing the pressure on your veins. And, if your stress is not short-term but rather ongoing, then you are not giving your veins a chance to alleviate that stress.

The pressure only continues to build the more stress that you have. You find your veins struggling more and more to pump the blood back up to your heart properly, and this will show itself in the form of pooling blood, a.k.a. varicose veins.

As the obstruction of blood flow continues, your legs become increasingly swollen, leaving you to endure a great deal of pain and some nasty-looking veins.

Discover these effective ways to improve your circulation.

Stress Hormones 

Cortisol, a stress hormone, increases blood sugar levels to give you energy to deal with stressful situations. It’s helpful for short-term stress,  such as getting you through a big work presentation.

In the short term, this is no problem — you do need to replace the energy you’ve burned. However, if your stress is ongoing, your cortisol levels stay high, and your body constantly tells you that it needs food. This is what causes weight gain. And being overweight is one of the leading factors causing varicose veins.

Weight Gain Impacts Vein Health

The extra weight puts pressure on your veins, damaging and weakening them further. This often leads to varicose veins. People who are overweight may have difficulty seeing their swollen and damaged veins due to the excess fat. They typically discover the development of varicose veins when the symptoms start to affect the skin.  Additionally, the depth of the veins in obese people can make it difficult for vein doctors to access and repair them.

Laser treatments that are typically a simple procedure for your average person become very difficult for someone who is obese.

Tips to alleviate stress in your life

1. Don’t Let Work Consume Your Life

Though your job is important, it does not need to rule your entire life. Many people struggle with the stress that work causes them, making it a very important part of their life to keep under control. One of the ways you can do this is to, as much as possible, leave your work at work. Don’t take it home with you. It is important that you use your time at home to relax and unwind and give your stress levels a chance to go down.

2. Exercise Daily

You don’t need to spend 2 hours at the gym or train for a marathon, but finding a way to incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise into your daily life will massively improve your stress, and, thus, your vein health.

3. Make Better Food Choices

When  you are stressed, it’s easy to reach for unhealthy convenience foods. But eating healthy meals can help you manage stress and improve your overall health.

One way to ensure you eat healthy meals is to prepare your own food. This doesn’t mean you have to cook every meal from scratch. You can prep simple meals that can be easily reheated on busy nights.

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