Lower blood pressure naturally by changing your lifestyle with these 10 lifestyle changes and reducing your heart disease risk.
Do you have high blood pressure? Are you worried about taking medications every day?
Are you looking for other ways to lower blood pressure naturally without medication?
Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.
Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down.
1. Reduce your weight if you are overweight
Blood pressure often rises as weight increases.
Reducing your weight loss is an effective lifestyle change for controlling blood pressure. Each 1 kg of weight you lose can reduce your blood pressure. Also, reducing your waist line helps to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
2. Stay Active by Exercising Regularly
Studies have shown that regular exercise prevents high blood pressure and also helps to control it. Regular exercise like swimming, dancing, brisk walking consistently 30 minutes each day can help reduce your blood pressure.
Take note that if you stop exercising, your blood pressure will rise again.
Combining regular exercise with a healthy diet will help to keep your blood pressure under control.
Before you visit the gym or start any exercise at home, be sure to inform your doctor.
3. Eat a healthy diet
The food you eat can influence your blood pressure.
Poor feeding habits and bad food choices have been linked to high blood pressure.
Also, various studies have shown that eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure.
There is a popular diet plan known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
Researches showed people who adopted the DASH diet reduces their blood pressure within 2 weeks.
4. Reduce the quantity of salt you add to your food.
Reducing the quantity of salt you eat will reduce your blood pressure as much as 5 to 6 mmHg.
According to WHO, high sodium consumption (>2 grams/day, equivalent to 5 g salt/day) and insufficient potassium intake (less than 3.5 grams/day) contribute to high blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The main source of sodium in our diet is salt, although it can come from sodium glutamate, used as a condiment in many parts of the world.
- Salt intake of less than 5 grams per day for adults helps to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart attack. The principal benefit of lowering salt intake is a corresponding reduction in high blood pressure.
- An estimated 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year if global salt consumption were reduced to the recommended level.
5. Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink
Alcohol can be beneficial or harmful to your health. You may be able to reduce your blood pressure by roughly 4 mm Hg by merely consuming one drink per day for women and two for men. 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor make up one drink.
However, excessive alcohol consumption negates this protective effect.
Drinking too much alcohol can cause a significant increase in blood pressure. Additionally, it may lessen the impact of blood pressure drugs.
6. Quit smoking
Each cigarette you smoke increases your blood pressure for many minutes after you finish. Stopping smoking helps your blood pressure return to normal. Quitting smoking is one method you can use to lower blood pressure naturally. And this will improve your overall health. People who quit smoking may live longer than people who never quit smoking.
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7. Reduce the quantity of Caffeine you drink.
Caffeine interfere with sleeping pattern of some people. Some people drink coffee to stay awake which ultimately will disrupt quality of sleep. When your sleep quality decreases, it is bound to affect your blood pressure naturally over time.
So, a simple way to lower your blood pressure naturally, will be to cut down the your intake of caffeine containing drinks.
8. Learn to cope with stress.
It is virtually impossible to live a life free of stress. The most important thing is to learn to cope with stress.
Stress is one major contributor to high blood pressure. Therefore, if we need to lower blood pressure naturally, reducing stress is an important factor.
Many of us are facing challenges that are stressful, and it can be overwhelming. Also, feeling lonely, or depressed can really be a source of stress for many people.
Learning to cope with stress is a wise way to lower blood pressure naturally without depending on drugs.
Occasional stress also can contribute to high blood pressure if you react to stress by eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol, or smoking.
Take some time to think about what causes you to feel stressed, such as work, family, finances, or illness. Once you know what’s causing your stress, consider how you can eliminate or reduce stress.
If you can’t eliminate the sources of your stress, it is better if you learn to cope with them.
Some stress comes with our responsibilities, or role we play in the society.
Change your expectations. For example, plan your day and focus on your priorities. Avoid trying to do too much and learn to say no. Understand, you can’t change or control some things, but you can focus on how you react to them.
- Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories,
- Take care of yourself.
- Take care of your body.
- Make time to unwind.
- Talk to others.
- Connect with your community- or faith-based organizations.
- Avoid drugs and alcohol.
- Recognize when you need more help.
9. Monitor your blood pressure at home and see your doctor regularly
Home monitoring can help you keep tabs on your blood pressure, make certain your lifestyle changes are working, and alert you and your doctor to potential health complications. Blood pressure monitors are available widely and without a prescription. Talk to your doctor about home monitoring before you get started.
Regular visits with your doctor are also key to controlling your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is well-controlled, check with your doctor about how often you need to check it. Your doctor may suggest checking it daily or less often. If you’re making any changes in your medications or other treatments, your doctor may recommend you check your blood pressure starting two weeks after treatment changes and a week before your next appointment.
10. Get support from family and friends
Supportive family and friends can help improve your health. They may encourage you to take care of yourself, drive you to the doctor’s office or embark on an exercise program with you to keep your blood pressure low.
If you find you need support beyond your family and friends, consider joining a support group. This may put you in touch with people who can give you an emotional or morale boost and who can offer practical tips to cope with your condition.
We provide the medical information provided in this article as an information resource only. This information does not create any patient-physician relationship and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.