Control your blood pressure and cut your risk of heart attack and stroke in half.
After you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers low. Your lifestyle plays a very important role in reducing your high blood pressure. If you successfully reduce your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid for medication.
1. Watch your waistline by reducing your weight.
As your weight increases, your high blood pressure also increases. Being overweight can also cause disrupted breathing when you sleep (sleep apnea), which also increases your blood pressure.Â
Weight loss is one of the most effective lifestyle practices for reducing blood pressure. Losing even a small amount of weight when you are overweight or obese can help treat your blood pressure.
Generally, you may treat your blood pressure by about one millimeter of mercury (mm Hg) with each kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of weight you lose.
2. Regularly exercise to reduce high blood pressure
Regularly do physical exercise. For example 150 minutes a week, or approximately 30 minutes most days of the week. This can lower your blood pressure by 5 to 8 mm Hg .
It is also important to be consistent. This is because if you stop exercising, your blood pressure can again rise.
If you have an elevated blood pressure, regular exercise can help avoiding the development of hypertension. If you already have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels.
Some of the aerobic exercise you may try to reduce blood pressure include jogging, cycling, walking, dancing and swimming.
3. Eating a healthy diet to reduce high blood pressure
Try eating a balanced diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. You should skimp on saturated fat and cholesterol. This will reduce your blood pressure by up to 11 mm Hg .
This eating habit is known as Dietary Approaches to Control Hypertension (DASH) diet. It is difficult to change your eating habits. With the tips below, you can adopt a healthy diet:
- Have a food diary. This is done by writing down what you eat, even for just a week, can shed surprising light on your true eating habits. Keep watch what you eat, quantity, when and why.
- Consideration of boosting potassium. Potassium can reduce the effects of sodium on blood pressure. The best food source for potassium is, fruits and vegetables. Talk to your doctor about the potassium level that’s best for you.
4. Reduce the amount of alcohol you drink
Alcohol can be good or bad for your health. By drinking alcohol only in moderation generally one drink a day for women, or two a day for men. This can can potentially reduce your blood pressure by about 4 mm Hg.
One drink contains 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.
Drinking more than the recommended amounts of alcohol can increase chances of high blood pressure by several points. It can also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.
5. Quit smoking
For every cigarette you smoke, it increases your blood pressure for many minutes after you finish. Quitting smoking helps your blood pressure to return normal. Stopping smoking can decrease the risk of heart disease and improve your overall health. People who stop smoking may live longer than people who never quit smoking.
6. Cut back on caffeine
Caffeine role played blood pressure is still debated. Caffeine can raise blood pressure up to 10 mm Hg in individuals who hardly consume it. Individuals who drink coffee regularly may experience little or no effect on their blood pressure.
Even although the long-term effects of caffeine on blood pressure are not clear, it is that possible blood pressure may slightly raise.
7. Reduce your stress
Chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure. More research is needed to determine the effects of chronic stress on blood pressure. Occasional stress can also contribute to high blood pressure. When you react to stress by eating unhealthy food, drinking alcohol or smoking.
Take some time to think about what causes you to feel stressed. For example work, family, finances or illness. When you know what is causing to stress, consider how you can reduce stress.
If you can not eliminate all the things you stress about, you can at least cope with them in a healthier way. Try the following:
- 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 there are some things you can’t change or control, but you can focus on how you react to them.
- Focus on issues you can control and make sure you solve them. If you are having an issue at work, try talking to your manager. If you are having a conflict with your kids or spouse, take steps to resolve it.
