Lower blood pressure with 5 minutes of exercise a day: study

• A brisk jog or bike ride instead of sitting all day can lower blood pressure, research shows.
• A few minutes of vigorous exercise each day can help prevent disease and increase life expectancy.
• Moderate exercise, such as walking and tai chi, can also reduce stress and lower blood pressure.

Replacing a few minutes of sitting each day with a brisk run or bike ride can lower blood pressure and help prevent heart disease, a new study suggests.

Researchers from University College London and the University of Sydney analyzed activity tracking data from previous studies involving 14,761 volunteers from the UK, Australia, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands.

On average, study participants spent 10 hours a day sitting or sedentary and about 16 minutes a day doing exercises like cycling.

Using their own model to assess how different activities affect blood pressure, they concluded that small changes can go a long way.

They found that replacing five minutes of sitting a day with physical activity, such as cycling or climbing stairs, led to lower blood pressure.

Adding more activity helped lower blood pressure even more: Researchers estimated that 10 to 20 minutes of daily exercise lowered blood pressure enough to reduce the risk of heart disease by about 10%.

The findings were published on November 6 in the Journal of the American Heart Association Circulationsuggest that short bursts of high-intensity exercise may be most effective in lowering blood pressure.

“For those who exercise little, walking still has a positive effect on blood pressure,” Jo Blodgett, first author of the study and a research fellow at University College London, said in a press release. “But if you want to change your blood pressure, increasing the workload on your cardiovascular system through exercise will have the biggest effect.”

A few minutes of high-intensity exercise can help you live longer

This is not news acceleration of the pulse can pay dividends for your health. Previous research shows quick workouts can improve overall fitness and help prevent early death.

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The latest research helps us better understand how exercise can be most effectively used to help people reduce their risk of serious disease, and what a meaningful daily dose might look like.

High blood pressure or hypertensionis the main risk factor for heart attack and stroke. It affects nearly a third of Americans, many of whom don’t even know they have it.

If you’re short on time, a brisk run or bike ride at a higher heart rate may give you the most health benefits.

“Finding that just five extra minutes of exercise or vigorous supportive activity per day can be associated with significantly lower blood pressure readings highlights how powerful short bouts of more vigorous movement can be in controlling blood pressure,” Emmanuel Stamatakis, joint senior author of the study and professor at the University of Sydney, said in a press release.

The researchers also noted that the growing popularity of wearables could be a great resource for people use data such as heart rate for greater efficiency.

Walking and tai chi can also protect your heart health

While short bursts of intense exercise can be effective, there’s good reason to find time for gentler exercise in your routine.

If you’re not ready to run, walking can help prevent heart disease and more From 500 to 1000 steps per day can lower your risk.

tai chi it has also been found to lower blood pressure as effectively as cardio. The evidence suggests that slow, meditative movement is beneficial in part because it helps reduce stress, which is another factor in maintaining healthy blood pressure.

Whichever exercise you choose, an a few extra minutes of movement in your daily routine can yield significant benefits over time.