Quit smoking
There are countless benefits to quitting smoking. When you smoke a cigarette, it increases your blood pressure and it remains elevated for many subsequent minutes. The tobacco chemicals harm the artery wall’s lining and make your arteries narrower, thereby making you vulnerable to heart disease. In fact, even secondhand smoke can pose a risk of heart disease.
Giving up cigarettes reduces your risk of heart-related ailments like blood pressure, and also refines your general health. It adds a considerable number of days to your life, too.
Drop a few pounds
High blood pressure is often a result of excess weight. To make matters worse, this additional weight can disrupt your breathing when you’re asleep (a condition known as sleep apnea), and further increase your blood pressure.
Losing weight could be a very effective way to bring your blood pressure under control. Generally, a 1kg (2.2 pounds) drop in your weight will translate to a drop of 1mmHg or 1 millimeter of mercury in your blood pressure.
You should also keep an eye out for your waistline and not let it breach a certain threshold. Men with a waist measurement of over 40-inches and women with a waist measurement of over 35-inches tend to be at an increased risk of high blood pressure.
Lower Stress
Blood pressure also rises when you are stressed. Learn to manage and relieve stress. Our mundane lifestyle can be very stressful at times. Learn to destress every time you find yourself stressed.
To lower stress you can listen to music, talk to your partner or a family member, or meditate. Experiment with things that might help you relax and find what works for you.
Eat a Healthy Diet
Eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and skimping on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure by as much as 11 mm Hg if you have high blood pressure. This eating plan is known as the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
Keep a food diary. Writing down what you eat, even for a week, can shed surprising light on your true eating habits. Control what you eat, how much, when, and why.
Be a smart shopper. Read food labels when shopping and stick to your healthy eating plan when dining out, too.
Avoid Sodium and Fats
When sodium and fats enter the bloodstream, they interfere with the ability of your body to pump blood at a normal rate. Cut out salt and processed foods from your diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Fast food and baked goods have more salt. To avoid consumption of salt, cook meals at home without salt. Some packet foods such as crisps, cookies, and popcorn also contain high amounts of sodium.
Drink Water
One of the most common causes of hypertension is too much sodium in your diet. If your meals have a lot of salt, then it has increased the sodium level of your blood.
Drinking water can help flush away this sodium from your body. Drink at least one glass of water every hour so that you urinate more often.
De-Stress
If your blood pressure is high, immediately stop stressing or shouting. If you are standing, sit down and try to relax. If you want to lie down, find a comfortable position and lie there. Drink water and let your heart rate come to a normal pace.
If you want to exit a stressful situation, quietly exit. Don’t overthink and try to involve yourself in doing something else. Meditate or practice mindfulness.
Modify your diet
A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains is a great way to normalize your blood pressure. The eating plan is commonly referred to as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or DASH diet.
While it may be challenging for you to alter your eating habits, here are a few helpful tips you can use during the process:
- Maintain a food journal: Journalizing what you eat, when, and how much can give you an excellent insight into your eating habits, even if you do it only for a week.
- Boost your potassium levels: Potassium is effective for nullifying, at least to a certain extent, sodium’s effects on blood pressure. Rather than supplements, aim to obtain potassium through fruits and vegetables. Be sure to check with your doctor before making any drastic changes, though.
- Be consistent: Take a moment to read food labels when you’re shopping and stick to foods that align with your diet plan, even when you’re dining out.
