8 simple tips to reduce blood pressure, combat stress, and avoid strokes and heart attacks

The festive period is a magical time of year, but it can also bring considerable stress. From ensuring you have all the ingredients for Christmas dinner to making certain the children have their nativity costumes ready, and finding time to wrap presents before the big day arrives, there's an enormous amount to juggle.

To help people manage the pressures of the festive season alongside everyday life, today, December 21, has been designated World Meditation Day. Established by the United Nations last year, the occasion encourages people worldwide to focus on their inner peace and reflect on what connects us all, as a means of fostering unity. Meditation has been demonstrated to offer numerous health benefits, including lowering blood pressure.

According to Healthline, research has revealed that those who practise meditation typically have reduced blood pressure, which in turn lessens strain on the heart and can help prevent conditions such as heart attacks or strokes.

One Reddit user shared a collection of tips on the platform for anyone considering trying meditation for the first time. They explained: "I've always wanted to get into meditation, but every time I tried, I either got bored, sleepy, or just ended up thinking about what to cook for dinner.

"Over the past few months, I've finally found a few simple tricks that made meditation click for me. Sharing here in case it helps someone else just starting out."

The first tip is not to attempt to "empty" your mind.

The user explained: "This was a game changer. I used to think I was failing if I had thoughts during meditation. But thoughts are normal! Just notice them, don't fight them. Treat them like pop-up ads, don't click, just let them pass."

The second suggestion is to start small, beginning with just one minute and gradually building up from there. Thirdly, they advised using your breath as an anchor. Count your breaths in and out, inhaling on one and exhaling on two, up to a count of 10, then repeat.

Their fourth recommendation is to link meditation with another aspect of your daily routine. The Reddit user stated: "I meditate right after brushing my teeth in the morning. No excuses, no 'will I do it today?', it's part of the routine like peeing or washing my face."

They also mentioned that playing gentle ambient music or rain sounds might be helpful, noting: "Not everyone likes pure silence, and that's fine. It's about focus, not torture." They emphasised that meditation doesn't require sitting cross-legged "like a Himalayan monk", simply adding: "Just stay still."

The user also proposed labelling thoughts as they emerge during meditation. They clarified: "When a thought comes up, I silently label it like 'future planning', 'random memory', or 'junk'. That labelling somehow helps the thought lose power and fade."

Their concluding advice is that meditation isn't confined to a seated position. Walking mindfully, paying attention to each step, can also be a form of meditation. Similarly, eating with full awareness of the meal, devoid of distractions like your mobile or television, can be meditative.

According to Healthline, meditation boasts an array of other benefits. These encompass stress reduction, anxiety alleviation, enhanced attention span, improved sleep, pain management, and mitigation of age-related memory loss.

Meditation is also versatile in terms of location - it can be practised at work, on public transport, or even during a walk.