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. 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. Heart rates increased by an average of 10 per cent during Christmas shopping, University of East London in partnership with Moneysupermarket Shopping found.

In the study of 16 men and 16 women, men had the worst spikes in heart rate during a 90-minute spree in London. But with blood pressure and cortisol, both sexes had similar increases.

Samuel Thompson, 30:" I HAD to buy five items and had an hour and a half to buy them. No sweat --or so I thought."

"Normally, I know exactly what I want to get and do it as quick as possible. But having to make on-the-spot decisions, like we did in the test, makes it more stressful."

"Lack of time and the crowds were the biggest pressure points. I got frustrated by other people slowing me down by stopping to chat in the street. And I could feel myself sweating in queues. Everything took longer than planned."

Dr Turner's verdict:" Sam's heart rate was good at the start but it had almost doubled by the end. Combined with his hiked systolic blood pressure--up by nearly 15 per cent--it could put him in line for stroke. Systolic blood pressure relates to the pumping out of blood by the heart."

Set a budget.

Be clear how much you want to spend on each person and stick to it!

Make a list.

Make a detailed list of the people you need to buy gifts for--this will ease your panic and help you avoid the embarrassment of realising you completely forgot about your sister-in-law again.

Research gifts online.

Not only can this provide inspiration, but comparison sites will tell you where to get the best deals.

Shop online.

You can pretty much buy anything and everything you could want online. Many businesses offer next day delivery and discounts are offered online that are not available in-store.

Use your credit card.

Purchases made on your credit card are insured against theft, loss and damage.

Stagger your shopping.

If you start buying your presents a few months in advance--say one present a month--both your wallet and your stress levels will thank you for taking the pressure off.



一项研究发现：圣诞购物不仅能把钱包弄瘪，还会有害身心。

东伦敦大学和个人理财网站Moneysupermarket合作完成的研究发现：圣诞购物会令50％的购物者的血压升高到一个危险阈值，并伤害肾脏，也增加了心脏病发作和中风的危险。即便血压升高得不多，也容易引发偏头痛、恐慌症以及骨质疏松症，而圣诞购物者的心跳平均加速10％。

研究者让伦敦的16名男性和16名女性在一个半小时里购物，结果男人的心跳变化最糟糕，而无论男女，二者的血压和肾上腺皮质醇值都有所增高。

30岁的萨缪尔·汤普森说："我要在规定的一个半小时内买五样东西。我觉得这毫无乐趣可言。"

"我通常都知道自己想买什么，而且买了就走。但这次实验要求你当场做出决定，就像是在考试，这就很有压力了。"

"时间紧迫、拥挤不堪是造成压力的最大所在。我对有人站在路上聊天而挡住了去路的事情很恼火。排队等待的时候我能觉出自己在出汗。完成每件事都比预计的时间长。"

特纳医生的结论："萨缪尔的心跳开始时还正常，但购物结束时心跳速度加快一倍。他的舒张压升高了15%，这是心脏泵出血液时的压力，受到这个压力时，心跳数字最容易发生变化。"

圣诞送礼不累人：

作预算

弄清楚自己在每个人身上想花多少钱，并且遵守预算。

列清单

详细列出需要送礼的对象名单，这将缓减购物恐慌并且避免发生又忘了给爱人的姐妹买礼物的尴尬事情。

在网上搜索礼品

这不仅会给你灵感，也可以通过比较知道哪里可以买到最合适的东西。

网上购物

你完全可以在网上购买每一种东西。许多商务网站都实现了订货后的第二天送货，并且可以享受到实体店没有的网上折扣。

使用信用卡

信用卡结帐可以避免偷盗和财产损失。

错开购物时间

如果你可以几个月前就开始选购圣诞礼品，比如说一个月买一样，那么你的钱包和身体都会庆祝压力的降低。
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