Want to lower your blood pressure? Try 5 more minutes of exercise

Just five more minutes of exercise doesn’t sound so bad, right? Especially when such a small amount may improve your blood pressure, according to a new study.

Just five more minutes of exercise doesn’t sound so bad, right? Especially when such a small amount may improve your blood pressure, according to a new study.

“Incorporating even a few minutes of higher-intensity physical activities like brisk walking or cycling into daily routines can make a difference for (blood pressure) levels,” said lead study author Dr. Jo Blodgett, senior research fellow at the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health at University College London.

Researchers analyzed data from nearly 15,000 people who wore activity monitors and had their blood pressure tracked, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Circulation.

The day’s activities were broken down into six categories: sleep, sedentary behaviour, slow walking, fast walking, standing, and more vigorous exercise, according to the study. Researchers used the data to estimate the impact of replacing sedentary time with the other activities.

As little as five more minutes a day of exercise was associated with lower blood pressure, and just 10 to 20 minutes more as linked to a clinically meaningful change in blood pressure (defined as a reduction of 2mmHg of systolic blood pressure or 1mmHg of diastolic blood pressure), Blodgett said.

Clinically meaningful changes in blood pressure can mean reduced risk for heart disease and stroke, said Dr. Susan Cheng, professor and vice chair of research in the department of cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was not involved in the research.

“The study offers some very detailed information on the fact that even though most of us (are) relatively inactive for most of the day, even small changes can make a big difference,” she said in an email.