5 Easy Ways To Lower Your High Blood Pressure
Millions of American adults have high blood pressure. If you’re one of them, consider these tips to lower your high blood pressure at home.
Doctors typically want to treat high blood pressure as soon as possible after discovering the issue in a patient, particularly because it can increase a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Physicians typically recommend various lifestyle changes, and they may prescribe medication to people with high blood pressure.
If your doctor said your blood pressure was a little high at your last checkup, they might have recommended keeping an eye on it and moving forward with an intervention if the matter worsens.
Even in that case, there are numerous safe and effective ways that you can be proactive about lowering your blood pressure.
How To Lower Your High Blood Pressure At Home
Here are five things you can do on your own to lower your blood pressure and eventually prevent any heart attack or stroke:
1. Participate In Aerobic Exercise
Medical experts say that aerobic exercise is a great way to lower your blood pressure. Bicycling, swimming, and walking are a few ideas of activities you might try.
Aim to exercise for at least a half-hour on no less than five days per week. However, if you’re not already exercising regularly, work up to that amount gradually. Your body needs time to adjust.
If you need some extra motivation, consider asking a friend to work out with you. Even if that person doesn’t have high blood pressure, they’d probably be glad to keep you company.
After all, exercise is good for anyone as long as a doctor hasn’t explicitly said to avoid it.
2. Reduce Your Sodium Intake
Sodium chloride, also known as table salt, is a familiar ingredient to most people. Even though it often makes food taste better by getting rid of blandness, it can also raise blood pressure.
Evidence shows that cutting back your sodium intake by 1,000 milligrams per day can have a lowering effect on blood pressure.
Processed foods are some of the most common consumables that contain salt. Fortunately, many manufacturers offer reduced-sodium versions of products you may buy regularly.
Additionally, canned vegetables are frequently available as no-salt-added options.
Changing your diet so that you don’t eat as much salt takes a bit of effort since it’s used so often in foods. However, with a bit of effort and dedication, you can make progress.
3. Limit How Much Alcohol You Drink
Drinking alcohol in moderation usually isn’t a bad thing, but if you have high blood pressure, having a drink could make it go up.
Set a goal of consuming no more than one drink daily if you’re a woman and two drinks per day if you’re a male.
There is an ever-growing selection of alcohol-free beverages on the market. You can find them in grocery stores, as well as at bars.
This means it’s easy to stick to your intention to drink less without bringing any social awkwardness into the picture.
4. Add a Cocoa Flavanol Supplement To Your Diet
Some of these suggestions recommend removing things from your life, but adding things could have a positive effect on high blood pressure, too.
Research indicates that flavanol-rich chocolate and cocoa products can lower blood pressure in adults if ingested for at least two weeks.
Cocoa flavanols are available as capsules or powder, which means it’s easy to choose an option that suits your preferences.
5. Prioritize Stress Management
Everyone gets stressed from time to time, but failing to manage it well could exacerbate a high blood pressure issue.
It’s important to figure out which stress management techniques work for you, then practice them often.
Meditation, playing relaxing music, or playing with a pet may help you ease the pressure when your stress level starts to climb.
In addition to the tips mentioned here, always follow your doctor’s advice about how to manage your blood pressure.
Something that’s crucial to remember is that, although high blood pressure is a widespread issue around the world, there are effective ways to manage it, including the tips mentioned here.
