Long-term strategies for maintaining healthy blood pressure. -
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March 25, When it comes to preventing and treating high blood pressure, one often-overlooked strategy is managing stress. Get enough sleep. Inadequate or poor-quality sleep can negatively affect your mood, mental alertness, energy level, and physical health.
Learn relaxation techniques. Meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, deep breathing exercises, and yoga are powerful relaxation techniques and stress-busters. Strengthen your social network. Connect with others by taking a class, joining an organization, or participating in a support group.
Hone your time-management skills. The more efficiently you can juggle work and family demands, the lower your stress level. Try to resolve stressful situations if you can. Don't let stressful situations fester. Hold family problem-solving sessions and use negotiation skills at home and at work.
Nurture yourself. Treat yourself to a massage. Truly savor an experience: for example, eat slowly and really focus on the taste and sensations of each bite. However, there is not enough evidence to confirm that most supplements can manage blood pressure.
Always check with a doctor before using a supplement, as not all supplements are safe for everyone. They may worsen other conditions or interact with existing drugs. Learn more about supplements that may lower blood pressure.
A review found that consuming 30 g or more of alcohol appears to increase the heart rate for up to 24 hours. Blood pressure, meanwhile, tends to fall for the first 12 hours but then increases. A standard drink contains around 14 grams of alcohol. Despite the hype, drinking a lot of red wine is not beneficial for heart health, according to the American Heart Association.
They suggest limiting alcohol intake to two standard drinks per day for males and one per day for females. How does alcohol affect the body? People who usually consume 1—3 cups of coffee per day are unlikely to experience a rise in blood pressure.
However, your blood pressure might go up if you consume a lot of coffee or even a small amount when you are not used to it. In contrast, high-caffeine energy drinks may increase blood pressure and, with that, the risk of cardiovascular problems.
Experts discourage the consumption of energy drinks, especially among minors with existing health conditions. If you find that caffeine is affecting how you feel, you might want to try decaffeinated coffee. Is caffeine good or bad for health? Some research suggests that drinking milliliters ml of water within 2 hours of waking up and another ml 2 hours before bedtime may help reduce blood pressure.
However, more research is needed. How much water do you need each day? Which medications can manage high blood pressure? This will depend on the cause and any existing diagnoses you have. Sitting quietly and doing breathing exercises might help.
A person with an existing diagnosis may need to take their prescribed medication. There is a strong link between salt intake and high blood pressure, and reducing salt in the diet can help lower the risk of hypertension and its complications. How much salt do you need each day? High blood pressure increases the risk for a number of health conditions.
People can often prevent it or manage it at home through exercise, dietary choices, stress management, and other strategies. Read this article in Spanish. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
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How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Sexual Health. Birth control STIs HIV HSV Activity Relationships. Medically reviewed by Avi Varma, MD, MPH, AAHIVS, FAAFP — By Marjorie Hecht — Updated on October 17, Watch calories and eat smaller portions.
A diagnosis of high blood pressure must be confirmed with a medical professional. A doctor should also evaluate any unusually low blood pressure readings. Health care professionals can take blood pressure readings and provide recommendations. View or Download Fact Sheet English PDF Spanish PDF. Home Healthy Living Healthy Lifestyle Life's Essential 8 How to Manage Blood Pressure Fact Sheet.
Systolic: The top number, the higher of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats when the heart muscle contracts.
I'm Dr. Lnog-term Thomas, a nephrologist at Mayo Clinic. And Lressure. here to answer some of the important questions you might have about hypertension. Measuring your blood pressure at home is a straightforward process. Many people have a slightly higher blood pressure in one arm versus the other.
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