Life has its way of stressing even the most relaxed of people out. You’d be hard-pressed in this day and age to find a person who doesn’t have one source of stress in their lives, whether that is their job, family, friends, or the most common reason –– money. While being stressed isn’t really good for your mental health and peace of mind, unfortunately, its worst effect has to do with your health, namely, higher blood pressure. When you are constantly under pressure, your blood pressure rises, and it could lead to some serious health complications. This is why you need some lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure.

Here Are 8 Lifestyle Changes to Lower Your Blood Pressure

1. Exercise 

Working out might just be the best thing you could do for your overall health, including your blood pressure. Studies show that exercising can lower blood by a significant percentage –– almost as good as some medications. When you exert effort and work out, your heart pumps more blood and your breathing rate increases, which contributes to cardiovascular health where your heart would make less effort to pump, which in turn lowers blood pressure. 

2. Eat Healthier 

Eating healthy foods is an important step in lowering your blood pressure. Yes, your diet and food options do make a difference, and they can significantly impact your blood pressure levels. Your diet needs to contain fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and fatty acids. On the other hand, you should avoid foods that contain saturated fat and sugar, which can contribute to increased blood pressure levels.

3. Use Supplements

Using supplements is another good idea for lowering blood pressure because some of them can provide your body with necessary components that can help you keep it down. For instance, folic acid and vitamin D are known to contribute to controlling high blood pressure conditions, so you should take such supplements. You should also know that with certain medications that can have quite a positive impact. It is a smart practice to create a balance between natural supplements that can help lower your blood pressure, and medications that are designed specifically for that function because they too can get you great results. 

4. Lose Weight 

Despite mentioning exercise and healthy diets earlier, losing weight is so crucial that it has to be mentioned in a separate point. This means that if you’re exercising regularly and eating healthy, but still not losing weight, then you need to find another way to lose some of that fat because there is a direct correlation between blood pressure and weight. When you are overweight or obese, your body reacts and blood pressure is increased. This is why it is very important that you find a way to lose pounds. 

5. Meditate 

Meditation is a great practice and an important lifestyle change, high blood pressure or not. It can significantly help reduce your stress levels, which in turn will reflect on your blood pressure. The subject is still heavily studied, but meditation has been shown to help clear the mind and help your body relax, which can lower your blood pressure if you practice it regularly. 

6. Cut Down on Alcohol

Yes, unfortunately, we have to go there. Alcohol has been shown to increase blood pressure if used excessively. It is recommended that you have one drink per day at the most because having more can temporarily increase your blood pressure levels, as well as lead to significant increases in the future. 

7. Quit Smoking 

Speaking of bad habits, smoking is pretty bad for your overall health, but it also has a direct effect on your blood pressure levels. One of the more difficult but nonetheless important, lifestyle changes that you will need to make to lower your blood pressure is going to be quitting smoking. The chemicals in those cigarettes you consume so regularly can cause inflammation and damage your blood vessels and arteries, which ultimately leads to higher blood pressure, among other health complications. 

8. Sleep Well

There are a ton of benefits to getting from sleeping well, and it is something you will have to do if you want to lower your blood pressure. Sleep deprivation messes with your hormones, including the ones responsible for your body’s ability to control stress, which means you will be more stressed, and in turn, your blood pressure will increase. 

These lifestyle changes aren’t exactly easy for the most part, but what choice do you really have? High blood pressure is a serious disease and it could cause a lot of complications if left untreated. This is why it is important to make those changes, so you could lead a healthier life.