There are a few ways to effectively lower blood pressure naturally. In addition to changes in diet, exercise and reducing excess weight, improving sleep and reducing stress are particularly promising approaches.
High blood pressure kills millions of people every year
High blood pressure is harmful to health and can lead to cardiovascular diseases and kidney failure, explains the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
According to the RKI, many millions of people die every year as a result of high blood pressure and this is considered the most important risk factor for early death that can be influenced.
What affects blood pressure?
According to the experts at the RKI, lack of exercise, obesity, unhealthy diet, stress and increased alcohol consumption are major risk factors for increased blood pressure and fortunately all of these risk factors can be influenced by changing your lifestyle.
Lose excess weight
A natural way to lower blood pressure is, for example, to lose excess weight. In an evaluation of eight studies with a total of 2,100 people with high blood pressure, it was found that losing weight can effectively help lower blood pressure.
In the review, weight loss was associated with an average reduction in blood pressure of 3.2 mm Hg diastolic and 4.5 mm Hg systolic.
Sleep affects blood pressure
Sleep can also have a significant impact on blood pressure. During sleep, blood pressure usually drops and disrupted sleep can negatively affect blood pressure.
For example, the results of one study show that lack of sleep – especially in middle age – is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure.
Another independent study found that regular sleep of less than seven and more than nine hours per night is also associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure.
A healthy sleep pattern with more than seven hours and less than nine hours of sleep per night can, conversely, also have positive effects on blood pressure.
Reduce stress
Stress has a significant impact on blood pressure. In stressful situations, the body releases stress hormones that increase the heart rate and constrict blood vessels, which can lead to a temporary increase in blood pressure.
If stress becomes chronic, it can contribute to increased blood pressure in the long term. Measures to reduce stress also serve to lower blood pressure. For example, mindfulness training and meditation are suitable for reducing stress and counteracting high blood pressure.
One study has shown that meditation techniques (either as monotherapy or in combination with conventional pharmacotherapy) lead to a small but significant reduction in blood pressure.
With the help of yoga, stress and blood pressure can also be effectively reduced in a natural way. This is confirmed by the results of another study in which yoga contributed to an average reduction in diastolic blood pressure of 3.62 mm Hg and systolic blood pressure of 4.17 mm Hg.
The experts involved conclude that yoga should be recommended as an effective intervention to reduce blood pressure.
Effective lifestyle interventions
Overall, the results show that lifestyle interventions can be very effective in reducing blood pressure, with changes in diet and exercise programs as well as improvements in sleep and measures to reduce stress showing promising effects. (as)