The good news is? Working to lower your blood pressure doesn’t have to be some huge, life-changing, time-consuming feat. In fact, according to a 2023 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, one short bout of exercise can lead to changes in months, and cardiologists back this up. The exercise in question: wall sits.
Sounds pretty random, right? Parade asked cardiologists to explain how it works—and their answers were fascinating. “Holding a wall sit isometrically squeezes the big thigh muscle without joint movement,” says Dr. Adedapo Adeyinka Iluyomade, MD, a preventive cardiologist with Baptist Health South Florida. (“Isometrics” are exercises that constrict a particular muscle.) “That brief ‘muscle-clamp’ temporarily narrows blood flow, then triggers a rebound widening of the arteries and, over weeks, trains blood vessels to stay more relaxed at rest.”
Want to understand further what’s going on behind the scenes? Dr. Nishant Kalra, MD, an interventional cardiologist and regional chief medical officer at VitalSolution, says the physiological mechanisms underlying those effects include improved autonomic regulation (aka increased parasympathetic and reduced sympathetic activity), reductions in resting heart rate and decreased total peripheral resistance. In other words—and on a very basic level—it relaxes your body, in a way.
Related: Want to Prevent Heart Disease? A Huge Study Says This Is the Exact Blood Pressure You Should Aim For
How Long and How Frequent Should Wall Sit Sessions Be?
Of course, wall sits alone won’t cure high blood pressure concerns. The cardiologists also recommend the following:
150 minutes of brisk walking or cycling a weekRegular aerobic and dynamic resistance exerciseEating lots of produce, potassium-rich foods and not too many high-sodium foodsGetting seven hours of quality sleepLimiting alcoholPracticing stress-relieving habits, such as box breathing and mindfulnessIf necessary, taking medication and blood pressure checks at homeWhen it comes to lowering your blood pressure, the steps you need to take are similar to the ones you would take for other health concerns: Add nutritious food into your diet, exercise, reduce stress levels, get enough sleep and the list goes on. But if you’re looking for one, quick movement that leads to results and is backed by both cardiologists and research, may we suggest a few wall-sit sessions?
Related: ‘I Had Sky-High Blood Pressure for Years, Now It's 112/72—Here's What I Did’
Sources
Dr. Adedapo Adeyinka Iluyomade, MD, a preventive cardiologistDr. Nishant Kalra, MD, an interventional cardiologistHigh blood pressure (hypertension), Mayo ClinicExercise training and resting blood pressure: a large-scale pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials, British Journal of Sports MedicineHence then, the article about cardiologists swear by this 2 minute exercise for lowering blood pressure was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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