HOW TO KNOW U HAVE POOR BLOOD CIRCULATION??

WARNING SIGNS OF POOR BLOOD CIRCULATION

Excess weight: Blood circulation directly defines your metabolism rate. The more blood flows through a given tissue, the faster its chemical reactions are, so poor blood flow instantly slows down the exchange processes in your body. Instead of being burned for energy, dietary carbs and fats get deposited into excess weight.

Increased fatigability:  If your muscles get easily tired after just a bit of activity, this could be due to poor blood flow. Physical exercise quickly drains the muscular energy resources, and they won’t be replenished without proper circulation.

Constant sleepiness: Decreased blood supply to the brain instantly leads to a subjective feeling of tiredness and evokes the need to have some extra rest—even if you’ve just slept for some 10 hours straight. This is why waking up tired and sleepy could be a sign of poor blood circulation.

Cold hands, feet, ears, nose:  In case of poor blood circulation, your body’s extremities are the first ones to suffer—and I don’t mean just the hands and feet. The ears and nose are sometimes even more sensitive and should be considered a valuable and early sign of circulatory issues. The Raynaud’s syndrome is a typical condition caused by poor blood circulation.

A numbing or tingling sensation in the hands and feet:  Impaired blood circulation in the upper and/or lower extremities goes hand in hand with poor oxygen supply to the local nerves. This state is known as tissue hypoxia and often manifests with an unpleasant sensation of local tingling or numbing.

Slow regeneration of wounds and bruises:  It’s impossible to heal any kind of physical damage without delivering enough “building blocks” to the place of injury, so if your blood flow is impaired, be aware that this could significantly slow down the healing processes in your body. This is exactly what diabetics suffer from, when their blood vessels are damaged by years of elevated blood sugar, resulting in poor blood supply to the limbs.

Dry skin:  Poor blood circulation leads to impaired nourishment of the skin. Some visible signs of this state include skin dryness, decreased skin elasticity, and deeper skin wrinkles.

Hair loss:  Your hair and nails are derivatives of the skin, so the health of the latter inevitably affects the health and beauty of the former. Thin and brittle hair and nails, hair loss—all of these could suggest a blood flow problem.

Brain fog:  In terms of energy and oxygen supply, the human brain is one of the most demanding organs (second only to the heart, perhaps). When systemic blood flow gets impaired, the first warning sign is a phenomenon known as “brain fog”—a state of mental confusion and “thought numbness,” as if the mind was surrounded by a thick fog.

Decreased cognitive performance (memory, attention):  Contrary to the previous point, this one is a fairly measurable aspect of your brain’s function. Have you been having trouble keeping your focus, memorizing even simple stuff, or paying attention to what’s happening around you? Consider improving the blood flow to your brain!

Dizziness (or fainting) after changes in position:  Also known as postural or orthostatic hypotension—a sudden drop in blood pressure seen after a person suddenly stands up after sitting or lying for a while. This can be caused by various reasons (dehydration, medications, blood vessel diseases), but is always a sign of poor blood circulation to the brain.

Impaired immune response, frequent infections:  Besides transporting oxygen throughout your body, the blood is also a universal delivery system of immune cells and protective factors. Impaired blood circulation essentially means less immunity spread throughout the tissues of your body, making them more prone to all sorts of infections.

Strange digestive symptoms:  Having an upset stomach for no apparent reason could be a sign of impaired blood flow in the guts. The human intestines are highly sensitive to oxygen and nutrients delivery, so when one of those goes down, the guts start to sound the alarm in the form of digestive symptoms.

INCREASED CAPILLARY REFILL TIME

To wrap everything up, here’s a fancy technique that doctors use to reveal poor blood circulation in the extremities: the capillary refill test.

To perform it, first, raise a hand so that it would be just a bit above the level of your heart. After that, apply some pressure on any of your fingernails (or on the soft pad of your finger) on the raised hand, until it turns white—then stop pressing and measure the time it takes for the white spot’s color to return. It shouldn’t take longer than 2 seconds, otherwise, it’s a guaranteed sign of poor blood circulation.