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Five more minutes of exercise wouldn’t be so bad, right? Especially when such a small amount may improve your blood pressure, according to new research.
“Incorporating even a few minutes of high-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking or cycling, into your daily routine can make a difference to your (blood pressure) levels,” said study lead author Joe, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Sport Research.・Dr. Blodgett said. University College London Exercise and Health.
According to , researchers analyzed data from about 15,000 people who wore activity trackers and recorded their blood pressure. Research published Wednesday Published in the journal “Circulation”.
The study found that the day’s activities were divided into six categories: sleep, sedentary behavior, slow walking, brisk walking, standing, and more strenuous exercise. The researchers used this data to estimate the impact of replacing sedentary time with other activities.
Adding just 5 minutes of exercise per day is associated with lower blood pressure, and adding just 10 to 20 minutes of exercise per day is associated with a clinically meaningful change in blood pressure (defined as a 2 mmHg decrease in blood pressure). I did. systolic blood pressure or diastolic blood pressure 1 mmHg), Blodgett said.
Clinically meaningful changes in blood pressure mean a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, says Dr. Susan Chen, professor and associate director of cardiology at the Smit Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He said there is a possibility. She was not involved in the study.
“This study provides very detailed information about the fact that even though most of us are relatively inactive for much of the day, even small changes can make a big difference. ,” she said in an email.
Chen said decades of research has shown that more physical activity can lead to more optimal blood pressure levels.
Study co-author Dr. Mark Hamer, professor of sport and exercise medicine at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health at University College London, said the latest research was aimed at improving people’s daily lives, rather than imposing a prescribed exercise program on them. He said that it stands out in that it observes the following. .
“The challenge with this type of research is that despite the lowering effect (in blood pressure), when people finish the program they usually return to sedentary habits,” he said in an email. I added it.
And the study’s data shows that people are more sedentary, Chen said.
“Data shows that the average middle-aged adult spends about 11 hours per day sitting, on average three hours standing, one to two hours walking slowly, and about one hour briskly walking. On average, it takes about 15 to 16 hours to do any type of exercise, such as activity, which is important,” she said in an email.
“It’s important for us to recognize that this fairly consistent picture of relative inactivity is common across the population.”
The study was observational, meaning that although it may show a link, it cannot be definitively said that increased activity causes improvements in blood pressure levels.
That said, the results are compelling enough that I refer to this study when talking to my patients about how to increase daily physical activity to impact vascular health and long-term cardiovascular health. “There is,” Chen said in an email.
She added that there are slight differences in the data, indicating that sedentary time can have a more negative impact on blood pressure in women than in men.
“This suggests that the overall conclusions from the study are important for all adults, but may be particularly important for women,” Chen added.
But the answer to improving blood pressure may not be just a walk in the park.
Replacing sedentary time with non-exercise activities such as sleeping, standing or walking slowly had little benefit, Blodgett said.
“Replacing sedentary time with non-high-intensity activities such as sleeping, standing, and walking requires a significant redistribution of daily time to have an impact on blood pressure,” the blog says. Jett said in an email. “Focusing on replacing sedentary time with small amounts of high-intensity activity and exercise each day may be a more achievable strategy.”
Dr. Shaan Khurshid, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, says a good rule of thumb when exercising is to get so out of breath that it’s difficult to speak a full sentence. He was not involved in the study.
Fortunately, the biggest effects are seen in those who are least active, which means you can start gradually, Blodgett added.
“If you’re currently not doing any high-intensity activity or doing very little, aim to increase it by 5 minutes per day, and increase if possible,” she says. Ta.
