Adding five minutes of extra exercise to your day can “measurably lower blood pressure readings”, new research has claimed.
Scientists from the University of Sydney and University College London have found that you can reduce your blood pressure by walking on an incline or climbing stairs for five minutes more each day.
Lead author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis said: “High blood pressure is one of the biggest health issues globally, but unlike some major causes of cardiovascular mortality there may be relatively accessible ways to tackle the problem in addition to medication.
“The finding that doing as little as five extra minutes of exercise per day could be associated with measurably lower blood pressure readings emphasises how powerful short bouts of higher intensity movement could be for blood pressure management.”
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One of the biggest causes of premature death around the world is hypertension, or a consistent elevated blood pressure level.
Prior studies have discovered that high blood pressure can trigger a heart attack, kidney damage, a stroke and heart failure.
During the trial, the team of researchers looked at the health outcomes of 14,761 volunteers in five countries.
As part of the trial, the participants used a wearable accelerometer device on their thigh so the research team could monitor their activity and blood pressure.
Each participant took part in six activities every day: sleep, sedentary behaviour, slow walking, fast walking, standing and more vigorous exercise.
Replacing sedentary behaviour with at least 20 minutes of exercise per day can lower cardiovascular disease risk by more than a quarter, according to the study.
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Fellow Dr Jo Blodgett said: “Our findings suggest that, for most people, exercise is key to reducing blood pressure, rather than less strenuous forms of movement such as walking.
“The good news is that whatever your physical ability, it doesn’t take long to have a positive effect on blood pressure.”
Dr Blodgett added: “What’s unique about our exercise variable is that it includes all exercise-like activities, from running for a bus or a short cycling errand, many of which can be integrated into daily routines.
“For those who don’t do a lot of exercise, walking did still have some positive benefits for blood pressure. But if you want to change your blood pressure, putting more demand on the cardiovascular system through exercise will have the greatest effect.”
Read the study in the journal Circulation.
