November 20, 200817 yr Bags of stress: Why Christmas shopping is bad for your health By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 3:16 PM on 20th November 2008 Comments (7) Add to My Stories Our wallets will not be the only thing suffering as we buy presents this Christmas. The mind and body will also be put under dangerous levels of stress, a study has found. Christmas shopping increased blood pressure to dangerous levels in 50 per cent of shoppers. Under stress: Christmas shopping increases blood pressure to dangerous levels This can lead to hypertension, which can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney problems. Even low levels of hypertension are linked with migraines, panic attacks and osteoporosis. More... Retailers report high street exodus as we all drop the shopping habitM&S slashes prices by 20% in one-day 'guerilla' sale as retailers gear up for bloody Christmas trade war Heart rates increased by an average of 10 per cent during Christmas shopping, University of East London in partnership with Moneysupermarket Shopping found. Their researchers asked 15 men and 15 women to purchase a variety of gifts within 75 minutes. Men felt twice as stressed post shopping, while women were almost three times as stressed. Rob Barnes, of Moneysupermarket Shopping, said: 'The results show why more consumers than ever are putting their feet up and shopping online.'
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