High blood pressure is a condition that can cause stroke and heart disease. When people are diagnosed with high blood pressure, they normally only think about medications required to bring down their numbers. Rather than taking medications, you can change your lifestyle to keep your blood pressure in check.
Here are 10 simple lifestyle changes that can help you control your blood pressure.
You can do aerobic exercises such as cycling, walking, jogging, and dancing every day and strength training exercises 2 days a week to bring down your blood pressure to optimum levels.
Create a diet that is rich in low-fat dairy products, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Talk to your nutritionist about the foods that work best to lowering your blood pressure.
You can expect increased blood pressure for many minutes after you finish smoking. Quit smoking, it will help you reduce your blood pressure and risk of heart disease, and will also improve your overall health.
If your weight is higher than the recommended BMI (Body Mass Index) for your height, then you may have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure. Ask your doctor to create a weight loss program that will improve your health.
Reducing sodium intake in your diet can decrease your blood pressure and improve your heart health. You can avoid eating processed foods and adding salt in your diet to reduce your sodium intake.
Both occasional and chronic stress can result in high blood pressure. Identify the causes of your stress and find ways to eliminate it. Deep breathing and meditation exercises can help lower your stress.
Caffeine can raise blood pressure even in people who rarely drink it. Your physician can check your blood pressure level within 30 minutes of drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages to determine whether they increase your blood pressure level or not. If it does, you should avoid caffeine.
Alcohol can be good for your health if you drink moderate amounts. However, drinking too much can result in high blood pressure and lessen the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.
Caring family and friends can help improve your overall health by taking you to the doctor’s office when required, encouraging you to take care of yourself. They can even join an exercise program with you to regulate your blood pressure level.
Home monitoring kits for blood pressure, are available to help individuals easily monitor their blood pressure in the comfort of home. You can also visit your doctor in regular intervals to seek advice on controlling your blood pressure.
A blood pressure reading of 140/90mmHg or higher is considered a high blood pressure.
You are more susceptible to developing high blood pressure if you:
Usually, you may not notice any symptoms, but some obvious symptoms include:
Regularly checking your blood pressure is essential because usually there aren’t any evident symptoms for it.
You can lower your blood pressure immediately by:
You can bring down your blood pressure to safer levels by:
