High blood pressure is a medical problem that affects many people at all stages and walks of life. If you have high blood pressure, you know the frustrations and worries that come with the condition and you’re probably eager to find ways with which to combat the problem.
There are many options out there – you can choose to go the medical route, the natural route, or a combination of the two. The decision you make should be based on what you want to do, what you need to do.
To help you know what’s best for you, we’ve compiled a list of seven ways to lower high blood pressure. Check them out to be better informed about your options.
1. Take medication
The natural route (which we’ll also get to in this blog post) may not be for everyone – and that’s totally fine. You need to do what you feel is best for your body. There are plenty of medication options out there to help you reduce high blood pressure. In fact, medication can be one of the best ways to lower high blood pressure.
It can be easier to take a pill every morning than to give up habits you love or to watch your diet with an eagle eye (though, again, there’s nothing wrong with those options either). Talk to your doctor to see what medication he or she recommends you take for your high blood pressure.
2. Skip your morning cup of coffee
All coffee lovers know how difficult it is to go even one day without enjoying their favorite beverage. While caffeine hasn’t been fully proven to raise blood pressure in a huge way, it often will raise your blood pressure at least slightly – and that isn’t good if you’re already working hard to keep pressure levels down.
If the thought of giving up coffee/caffeine seems inconceivable, try drinking some and then testing your blood pressure half an hour later. There may be no ill effects, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. If there’s a negative change in your blood pressure, try switching to decaf coffee or finding another (non-caffeinated) drink that you can enjoy.
3. Stop smoking
Smoking is, for many people, a tough habit to kick. But it’s also one of the leading culprits in heightened blood pressure, since smoking just one cigarette can raise your blood pressure for many, many minutes afterwards. If you stop smoking, you should see a good change in lowering your blood pressure symptoms.
And, of course, smoking is also not great for your heart and lungs, so there will be a multitude of health benefits should you decide to stop – not just that of lowering your blood pressure.
4. Exercise as regularly as possible
Few of us enjoy exercising so you might feel like skipping this tip altogether. But don’t! The upsides of regular exercise are many…and one of them is lowered blood pressure. When you exercise (even by going on a short walk or jog) your heart will start pumping with greater speed and strength.
This, in turn, circulates blood through your body more quickly and smoothly, relieving tension and pressure on your arteries. These are good ways to lower high blood pressure and you’ll feel rejuvenated, relaxed, and ready for anything.
5. Introduce more potassium into your diet
Potassium is a mineral that is proven to help lower blood pressure by flushing sodium out of your body and helping your blood vessels loosen and work better. If you’re not sure what foods contain a good amount of potassium, there are plenty of lists out there.
But we’ll give you a few of the basics to start you off on the right foot: bananas, tuna, salmon, leafy green vegetables, dairy, and beans. Most of these are probably foods that you already eat on a semi-regular basis, so just add a few more potassium-rich meals to your diet and you’ll be good to go!
6. Get rid of sugary foods and junk carbs
If you are at all overweight, losing a few pounds can mean the difference between high blood pressure and healthy blood pressure. Cutting out sugar and refined carbs is a great step toward losing weight. And even if you’re currently at a healthy weight, removing candy, white bread, and so on from your diet will help to lower your blood pressure.
The healthier you eat, the less pressure will be put on your heart, arteries, and blood vessels. It might be hard to give up desserts, but this is one of the best ways to lower high blood pressure. And you don’t have to remove every single delicious, sugar- and carb-rich treat from your diet – just some of them.
7. Sleep well
Staying up late and waking up early might be fun at times (or necessary, if you have to work the day after a party) but it’s probably wreaking havoc on your blood pressure. When you sleep well, your blood pressure lowers after the tensions of the day.
But when you don’t get a good amount of sleep, your blood pressure doesn’t have a chance to even out (at least not as much) and this can lead to higher blood pressure. So try to get a good night’s sleep whenever possible.
