Lower Blood Pressure Naturally
How to Lower Blood Pressure With Exercise.
You can lower blood pressure naturally without using medication. Simple exercise can help maintain good blood pressure.
Exercise is one of the best things you can do to keep your heart strong and healthy as you age. It is the best way to lower blood pressure naturally. A strong heart pumps blood through your arteries easier and with less pressure. If your blood pressure is higher than it should be (over 120/80), you can lower it by doing aerobic exercise for just 30 minutes a day.
Lower Blood Pressure Naturally and Get a Clean House at the Same Time
Aeorobic exercise gets your heart pumping faster and increases your rate of breathing. Exercises such as walking, swimming, cycling, and jogging are good ways of doing aeorobic exercise. Even chores around the house count as long as you get in 30 minutes worth. Chores such as scrubbing floors, mowing the lawn, sweeping the walkways, raking leaves, and vacuuming the floors.
For exercise to lower blood pressure, it has to be done at least 30 minutes every day and the effect continues only as long as you continue to exercise. Going for a walk twice a week won't do it. Exercising for two weeks and then taking a week off, won't work either. It has to be consistent day in and day out. OK, one day off a week probably won't hurt but don't let it stretch into two days. Let's just say, in the beginning exercise at least six days a week.
You don't have to do the same exercise every day. If you usually walk for half an hour, try swimming for half an hour one day a week for a change. If you rake leaves for half an hour just because the job needed to be done, you don't need to walk for half an hour on top of it. Of course, if you really want to take that walk, it would be good to go ahead and do it. The point is to get your heart pumping faster and increase your breathing rate for at least half an hour.
What if you can't fit in a half-hour block of time? You can do it in short bursts if that fits your lifestyle better.
- Walk briskly to the mailbox and back
- Sweep the front porch
- Hoe in the garden
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Vacuum the downstairs of your home
- Walk for ten minutes on your lunch hour
If you decide to walk for half an hour several days a week, and you have not been doing much exercise, you may need to start slowly and build up the length of time over several weeks. If you are really in poor shape, begin with a 5-minute walk for six days the first week. Then the next week double it to 10 minutes a day. The third week, add another five minutes and so on until you work up to a full 30 minutes.
It can take up to three months of exercise before you see real improvement on your blood pressure. You can see improvement by having your blood pressure monitored regularly, like once a week. This is especially true if you are taking medication for high blood pressure. Your medication dosage may need to be adjusted or even stopped. Home blood pressure monitors are relatively inexpensive, convenient, and easy to learn to use.
This brings up another concern. You need to discuss your exercise program with your doctor before you attempt to lower your blood pressure naturally with exercise if
- you are on high blood pressure medication
- you are overweight
- you smoke
- you have high cholesterol
- you have had a heart attack
- heart disease runs in your family
- if you feel pain in your chest when you exercise
- you become dizzy when you exercise
If you experience any pain, dizziness, tightness in the chest, irregular heartbeat, or extreme fatique when exercising, you need to stop at once and see a doctor.
