Lower Blood Pressure with 5 Minutes of Exercise a Day: Study

• Research shows that going for a quick jog or bike ride instead of sitting all day can lower your blood pressure.
• A few minutes of vigorous exercise every day can help prevent disease and increase your life expectancy.
• Gentle 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 may lower blood pressure and help prevent heart disease, a new study suggests.

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

On average, study participants spent Sit or lead a sedentary lifestyle 10 hours a day and about 16 minutes a day of exercise such as cycling.

Using their own model to evaluate how different activities affect blood pressure, they concluded that small changes can make a big difference.

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

Increasing activity helped lower blood pressure even further: Researchers estimated that 10 to 20 minutes of exercise a day lowered blood pressure enough to reduce the risk of heart disease by about 10%.

The results were published Nov. 6 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Circulationsuggest that short periods 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 your cardiovascular challenge through exercise will have the greatest effect.”

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

It’s not news that increasing heart rate can pay dividends for your health. Previous studies show quick workouts may improve overall fitness and help prevent early death.

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

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

If you’re short on time, a quick run or bike ride at a higher heart rate can provide you with the most health benefits.

“The finding that doing just five extra minutes of exercise or vigorous episodic activity per day can be associated with significantly lower blood pressure readings highlights how effective short bouts of more intense movement can be for controlling blood pressure,” Emmanuel Stamatakis, senior researcher author of the study and professor at the University of Sydney, the press release said.

The researchers also noted that the growing popularity of wearable devices could be a great resource for people. Use data such as heart rate to train more effectively.

Walking and tai chi can also protect your heart health.

While short, intense workouts can be effective, there is still a good reason to make time for lighter exercise in your daily routine.

If you’re not ready to go for a run, walking can help prevent heart disease. 500 to 1000 steps per day may reduce your risk.

Tai Chi Exercise has also been found to lower blood pressure as effectively as cardio. Evidence suggests that slow, meditative movement beneficial in part because it helps reduce stress, another factor in maintaining healthy blood pressure.

Whatever exercise you choose, an extra few minutes of movement in your daily life can bring significant benefits over time.