How to Lower Your Heart Rate

Learn How to Lower Your Heart Rate

In this article we explore how to lower your heart rate. Your heart rate and pulse mean the same: the number of heartbeats per minute. A lower resting heart rate is a sign of greater health.

Alcohol is a depressant as well as a stimulant. moderate alcohol consumption is fine. However, excessive drinking, including long-term excessive alcohol abuse and binge drinking, can result in a number of negative health effects and can cause catastrophic damage to your organs, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, damaged blood vessels, liver disease, cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, a heart attack, and other heart conditions.

A rapid heart rate can be extremely worrying and one cause of this is our beloved alcohol. Continue reading to find out everything you need to know about alcohol and heart rate along with ways in which you can bring it down.

Alcohol Effects

As you may have found, alcohol can increase the heart rate, sometimes at an alarming speed. Some people may not have noticed this, but others will have, and it can get pretty scary when you’re on a night out. In the clubbing scene, one of the most popular alcoholic drinks is a good old vodka and Red Bull. Except it’s not so good.

Red Bull is, of course, an energy drink which speeds up your pulse as it is. And, when combining it with alcohol, another heart rate increasing beverage, well, that’s just asking for trouble, isn’t it? Most alcoholic drinks dehydrate the body and when this happens the pulse increases in order to stabilize the blood flow.

Alcohol is also a toxin which our body tries naturally to rid itself from. But, in order to remove toxins, our body needs to work harder. So, combining this with the increased heart rate from alcohol due to dehydration, the body and heart go into overdrive.

It’s quite worrying when you think about it. The heart beats continuously, every second of every day and every night. If it doesn’t, then we’re probably dead. It never gets a break, and it never gets the day off. So, in reality, we really need to be looking after it as much as we can.

How to Lower Your Heart Rate When Drinking Alcohol

While there are limited things that you can do to lower your pulse when drinking alcohol, there are still some things you can do that may help.

1. As simple as it sounds—and although you’ve probably been told it before and thought nothing of it—it can work. When your heart is racing, and you’re drinking alcohol, stop what you’re doing and try and find a quiet corner of the room. Then take really deep steady breaths. When you breathe in, the heart rate increases but when you breathe out, the heart rate slows down. Doing this several times can help your heart to gain control again and ultimately calm it down.
2. If your heart rate has peaked, then grab a friend and go for a slow walk. It doesn’t have to be a long one just preferably one away from busy and loud areas. This will help to calm the body gradually. If your heart rate is persistent and continues at speed then sit down somewhere quiet, breathe the fresh air, and have a chat with your friend. Afterward, you should be good to go.
3. This one is much easier said than done, especially if you’re in a club or a bar. But, hey, with limited resources you have to do what you can. Again, looking for a relatively quiet corner of the room or even a bathroom stall. Sit down close your eyes and try to relax. Try some deep breathing, clear your mind, and focus. If you’re not too drunk and you are able to do this, it can very well help. If you are too drunk, well, then it might just be time for a taxi.

Lowering Your Heart Rate When You’re Not Drinking Alcohol

Trying to reduce the heart rate when you’re not drinking alcohol is a lot easier. This is mostly because you’re not full of a substance that makes it hard to focus or that clouds your judgment. It basically boils down to your food, exercise, and what you don’t put into your body.

Alcohol, as we’ve already established, increases your heart rate, as does nicotine and caffeine. Eating a balanced diet is the first step toward a healthy heart rate. A bad diet not only leads to obesity but also causes the arteries to clog, creating even more work for the heart.

Exercise is, of course, another important factor when it comes to maintaining good health. The fitter someone is, the lower the resting heart rate. One of the most obvious ways to lower your heart rate is by using meditation or relaxation techniques such as yoga.

 

CBD Can Help

As research into CBD continues, more and more potential benefits are coming to light. With regards to the effects that CBD can have on your pulse, it’s safe to say that it looks very positive.

CBD has shown to lower the heart rate and its anti-anxiety and antidepressant qualities can calm the body overall.

It has also been known to reduce blood pressure. A good way to prevent high heart rate and still go out for a couple of drinks is to use CBD before leaving the house. This can make you more aware of the situation and can make you less likely to binge drink.

It’s not a miracle cure, well at least in this case it’s not anyway, but it can help. CBD has also shown great results when using it the day after drinking or when you have a hangover—especially for those that have hangover anxiety.

Introducing CBD products into your life can definitely help with maintaining a good heart rate. It can help you to stay calm, combat depression and anxiety, and give you the good old positivity boost that is sometimes needed.

Experiencing a spike in your pulse can be very worrying, especially if it’s because of alcohol that is in your system. It is something that cannot be immediately removed and so knowing a few tips and tricks on how to lower it can make all the difference.

This article by Madeleine Taylor is originally published at SundayScaries.