Behavior and Personality: The Intrinsic Drivers of Blood Pressure Fluctuations and Health Medicine Models

Unhealthy Behaviors Affect Blood Pressure

Dr. Kang says: Everything has its good and bad sides, and the fluctuation of blood pressure is no exception. Physiological fluctuations in blood pressure are beneficial to human health, maintaining the body's physiological needs. However, these fluctuations have certain limits; exceeding these limits can cause dysfunction of organs and tissues, leading to disease. In the past, people believed that abnormal changes in blood pressure were caused by disease, and that there would be no increase or decrease in blood pressure without disease. This erroneous view has led to many tragedies. For example, someone who was perfectly healthy suddenly died of a cerebral hemorrhage after arguing with their boss. Others played mahjong day and night, won a big hand ("a winning hand on the first kong," or, in their excitement, danced wildly, only to suffer a stroke and become mute… What exactly is going on? We say: what causes these tragedies is human behavior, specifically unhealthy behavior. Can unhealthy behavior also cause changes in blood pressure? Let's see the answer from "behavioral medicine"! We know that the medical model of the 21st century is "health medicine." Compared with traditional biomedicine, health medicine is proactive, positive, and what people need most. Health medicine encompasses behavioral medicine, psychosomatic medicine, social medicine, and environmental medicine. Behavioral medicine is a science that studies the role of behavioral factors in physical health and disease development.

Simply put, people's behavior, like bacteria, viruses, and the human immune system, determines whether or not they get sick! Therefore, behaviors that cause illness are called unhealthy behaviors. How do unhealthy behaviors cause fluctuations in blood pressure? Common unhealthy behaviors include smoking, excessive drinking, drug use, excessive stress, picky eating, lack of sleep, and fighting. Unhealthy behaviors often generate negative emotions. For example, people with unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking, and lack of sleep often experience frustration, depression, anger, and hostility due to unmet needs. These negative emotions are reflected in tissues and organs through the nervous system, causing damage to certain tissues and organs. The most common consequence is cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by increased blood pressure. Secondly, excessive intake of harmful substances can also affect health. These harmful substances accumulate in the body to a certain level. For example, long-term consumption of high-sodium foods leads to the accumulation of sodium ions in the body. This sodium accumulation increases blood volume, cardiac output, and blood pressure. It can also cause constriction of small arteries throughout the body, increasing vascular resistance and raising blood pressure. Smoking and insufficient sleep are also causes of high blood pressure. Nicotine in tobacco can stimulate vascular smooth muscle, causing vasospasm and raising blood pressure. Insufficient sleep is a common problem among urban white-collar workers. These individuals don't necessarily have trouble sleeping; rather, they prioritize online activities, chatting, and socializing over sleep.

They mistakenly believe that sleeping less is harmless because they are healthy. A recent health survey in a certain city found that among over 700 government employees and white-collar workers, the incidence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obesity was 15% to 20%. This number is deeply worrying for doctors, as these individuals are all young and middle-aged, possessing both theoretical knowledge and practical experience—the backbone of society. Most are undergraduates, many even holding master's or doctoral degrees. Their development represents decades of hard work and significant financial investment by the nation and their families, nurturing these pillars of society. Now, they suffer from hypertension… How can this not cause concern and worry? While work stress and genetics also contribute to hypertension and other illnesses, unhealthy lifestyle habits remain the primary cause. Physiologically, young and middle-aged adults should sleep 7-8 hours daily. This 7-8 hours of sleep not only restores bodily functions but, from an evolutionary perspective, also plays a protective role. Prolonged sleep deprivation can affect blood pressure. Therefore, for the sake of health and stable, normal blood pressure, young and middle-aged individuals must cultivate good sleep habits. To develop good sleep habits, you should do the following:

1. Go to bed at the same time every day to maintain a regular lifestyle;

2. Soak your feet in hot water before bed to promote blood circulation and relieve fatigue;

3. Drink a glass of warm milk before bed to calm the nerves and supplement calcium;

4. Avoid scheduling stressful activities or watching scary movies before bed;

5. Forget about unpleasant things from the day and maintain a peaceful state of mind. A survey conducted by the American Cancer Society showed that: people who sleep an average of 7-8 hours per night have the longest lifespan; people who sleep less than 4 hours per night have a mortality rate four times higher; and people who sleep more than 10 hours per night have a mortality rate twice as high. Medical experts have also found that middle-aged and elderly people with good afternoon napping habits have stronger immune functions than those who don't.

Good afternoon napping habits can reduce the incidence of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. A reasonable afternoon nap time: half an hour after lunch, rest in bed for 30-60 minutes. Tip: By eliminating bad habits and developing good lifestyle habits, many people's blood pressure will return to normal levels. The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that the greatest threat to humanity in the 21st century is lifestyle-related diseases. Habits are fixed lifestyles, therefore they should be given full attention; they are not "minor details of life." The renowned medical expert Wu Jieping famously said, "Consciously cultivating good habits beneficial to health and resolutely eliminating unhealthy bad habits is the best and most effective way to maintain health." A good character stabilizes blood pressure.

A philosopher said, "Good upbringing cultivates good habits, good habits form good behavior, good behavior shapes good character, and good character forges a good destiny." In real life, many people complain about their bad fate, but those who complain about their fate should complain about their bad character. Psychologists believe that "character is a person's attitude towards objective things and the personality traits of behavior that correspond to that attitude." If you think about your attitude towards the country, society, workplace, colleagues, relatives, and friends, as well as your values ​​and style of doing things, you will understand what character is and its influence on destiny. From a psychological perspective, character is composed of two aspects: psychological characteristics and dynamic characteristics. 1. Attitude towards reality;

2. Willpower;

3. Emotional characteristics;

4. Rational characteristics.

1. Education can change personality.

2. Environment can change personality.

3. Changes in cognition influence changes in personality.

From these points, we can believe that if we have a good personality, we can continuously improve ourselves based on our existing foundation; if we have a bad personality, we can reshape it into a better one through education, environmental influence, and self-adjustment. British psychologist Paine was one of the earliest experts to study personality, and he divided personality into three types:

1. Rational type: Actions are guided by reason;

2. Emotional type: Behavior is easily influenced by emotions;

3. Willpower type: Actions have clear goals and strong self-control. German psychologist Spranger focused on people's attitudes towards reality and categorized them into six personality types: Economic Type: Views everything from an economic perspective, pursuing material wealth; Theoretical Type: Pursues truth, views things objectively, but has slightly weaker practical problem-solving abilities; Aesthetic Type: Values ​​the beauty of things as the essence of life, imbuing objective impressions with subjective color; Power Type: Values ​​the awareness and enjoyment of power, striving to acquire it; Social Type: Values ​​loving others as the highest value in life, determined to dedicate themselves to society; Religious Type: Believes in religion, regarding the core of faith as the highest value of existence. In recent years, some have also categorized personality based on blood type, primarily in Japanese psychology.

Type A: Gentle, suspicious, dependent on others, and easily impulsive; Type B: Sensitive, meddlesome, eloquent, and sociable; Type O: Strong-willed, opinionated, prefers to dominate others rather than be commanded, and courageous; Type AB: Outwardly exhibits characteristics of Type B blood, but inwardly possesses features of Type A blood. Note: In real life, people rarely possess only one of the above personality traits; they are mostly a mix. That is, one aspect is dominant, while others are secondary. A positive, enthusiastic, strong, and upward-looking personality is a good one. For one's own health, everyone should have a good personality, because life's journey has its ups and downs. People with good personalities can remain calm, composed, and balanced in the face of adversity, maintaining stable blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is essential for good health.

Data shows that at the end of the last century, a major hospital in China conducted a personality survey of young, middle-aged, and elderly people, as well as centenarians, in a certain municipality. The results were as follows: Type B personality: Many centenarians possess this personality. They lead leisurely lives, are not competitive, are gentle and calm, unhurried, thoughtful, and indifferent to fame and fortune. They have a peaceful mindset and stable blood pressure. Type B personalities account for 83% of centenarians. Compared to Type B personality,

Type A personalities are impatient, easily angered, and lack patience. They do everything at a fast pace, have an excessive competitive mentality, and are prone to blood pressure fluctuations. A sharp increase in blood pressure can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Type A personalities account for only 14% of centenarians, a significant disparity that should raise concerns. The doctors conducting this survey also found that once a person's personality is changed and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are cured, 70-year-old men can live an average of 16.8 years longer, and women 14.4 years longer. This shows that a good personality not only stabilizes blood pressure but can also contribute to longevity!