6 Easy Steps to Lower Your Blood Pressure

If you have high blood pressure, there’s plenty you can do every day to control it, besides relying on medication. Eating healthier, exercising more, and modifying other habits can help keep your readings in check. Need some ideas to get started? Read on.

1. Eat a healthy diet – a healthy diet doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless. Look for recipes that include lean meats, poultry, fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Herbs and spices can take a dish from dull to delicious.  
2. Reduce your stress – regular stress can impact your blood pressure, especially if you deal with it by eating a lot of unhealthy foods or by smoking and drinking. Find other ways to cope with stress like walking, yoga, or gardening.
3. Quit smoking – cigarettes raise your blood pressure and makes a heart attack or stroke more likely. Even more, smoking can make some medicines you take for your blood pressure less effective.
4. Get enough sleep – your blood pressure goes down when you get some shut-eye. Getting enough is an important way to keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. Most people need at least 7 hours of high-quality sleep each night.
5. Watch your salt – too much can raise your blood pressure. Salt is not just what you sprinkle in your foods. It hides in most packaged foods like pizza, soups and sandwiches.
6. Exercise – it can help you lower your blood pressure and lose weight. Losing as little as 10 pounds can lower or help prevent high blood pressure if you’re overweight. Try aerobic workouts or strength training with free weights, weight machines, exercise bands or your own body weight.

Try a personal trainer – if you want a pro to help you get started, consider getting an OT Fitness trainer to show you what to do. We’ll customize a workout to meet your goals and show you how to do each move. We’re offering a free, 30-minute introductory workout so that you can try it out for yourself, no strings attached.