Lower Your Blood Pressure With 5 Minutes Of Breathing Exercises
A breathing training of 5 minutes a day can lower blood pressure as well as medication and exercise over the course of a few weeks.
There are many drugs available on the market to lower high blood pressure that are effective, but often have side effects.
If the blood pressure is not very high it is worth trying to control it with a respiratory muscle training for 5 minutes a day. In some cases, it may be more effective than strength training and better than medication, according to a study from the University of Colorado Boulder, which has been published in the journal American Heart Association .
The exercises constitute what is known as inspiratory muscle strength training (Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training IMST) and could serve to prevent one of the most common causes of death of our time (heart attack).
Breathing training takes 5 minutes
Integrative Physiology Professor Daniel Craighead explains, “There are many methods to keep cardiovascular health stable as you age, yet they are not infrequently time consuming, require discipline, and often costly, which is why many people fail. . But the IMST is done in five minutes and can even be done comfortably while watching television. “
The IMST was developed in the 1980s, especially to help patients with severe respiratory diseases, because it can strengthen the respiratory muscles and relieve symptoms.
The respiratory muscles include the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles, that is, the muscles between the ribs that make up the chest wall.
During the IMST, you breathe through a small device, a respiratory or lung trainer, that offers an adjustable resistance to inspiration.
6 weeks of training are as effective as antihypertensives
Typical training with the IMST device is performed for half an hour a day with low resistance in case of respiratory diseases.
However, in recent years, Professor Craighead and his colleagues have found that training with around 30 puffs per day with heavy resistance six days a week could lead to improvements in cardiovascular health, as well as in cognitive performance and athletic.
The study included 36 adults (50-79 years) with elevated blood pressure (their systolic blood pressure was greater than 120 mmHg). Half completed the described respiratory training (IMST with high resistance) for 6 weeks, the other half served as a placebo group and did the training with very low resistance.
At the end of the exam , the systolic blood pressure in the IMST group had decreased by an average of 9 mmHg, a result that even some blood pressure medications cannot overcome. If you wanted to achieve this goal, for example, by brisk walking, you would have to train for 30 minutes 5 days a week.
It was also impressive that the positive changes in blood pressure persisted over a period of another 6 weeks, even though the study participants were no longer practicing IMST during that time.
“Breathing this way not only takes less time than regular exercise programs, but its positive effects seem to last longer,” said Professor Craighead.
This is how breathing training lowers blood pressure
Breathing training lowers blood pressure by significantly increasing the level of nitric oxide in the blood. Nitric oxide is a substance that can be produced by cells in the walls of blood vessels and that relaxes the arteries. This promotes blood circulation and prevents deposits on the walls of the blood vessels.
As a result, the IMST group showed a 45 percent improvement in vascular function (endothelial function), meaning that arteries can quickly and easily expand and contract as needed.
Since the level of nitric oxide decreases with age, other measures can be taken to ensure a higher level such as drinking a glass of beet juice every day and eating lots of green leafy vegetables.
A dietary supplement with the amino acid L-arginine is also considered to increase nitric oxide and thus promote blood circulation, lower blood pressure, and increase performance.
In addition, respiratory training reduces the inflammation values of the participants and also the oxidative stress values. If these values increase, an increased risk of heart attack should be expected.
Breathing training for menopausal women
Breathing training can also be good for menopausal women. Previous studies indicate that these women cannot achieve as good results in terms of vascular health through resistance training as men, especially if they do not receive estrogen treatment. However, his blood vessels responded to the breathing training without any problems.
Also for athletes
If you are a runner, you may be able to reach your sporting goals faster with IMST. “When you run a marathon, your respiratory muscles tire over time and require more blood to be drawn from the skeletal muscles. But that, in turn, causes fatigue in the legs, ”explains Professor Craighead, who uses IMST breath training for his own marathon training.
“If you strengthen your respiratory muscles, the effect described will take longer to appear and your legs will not get tired.”
Scientific references:
- Daniel H. Craighead, Douglas R. Seals et al. Time ‐ Efficient Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training Lowers Blood Pressure and Improves Endothelial Function, NO Bioavailability, and Oxidative Stress in Midlife / Older Adults With Above ‐ Normal Blood Pressure. Journal of the American Heart Association.
