Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, can cause many serious side effects for the body. This not only increases the risk of heart disease but also kidney damage, and brain stroke along with eyes and nerves. This is the reason why all people are advised to keep their diet and routine in such a way that it can be beneficial in reducing blood pressure.
Health experts say, controlling blood pressure can be easier if one starts doing breathing exercises. Deep breathing exercises not only help control your blood pressure but can also be beneficial in reducing mental health problems like stress-anxiety.
Researchers found that participants who did daily deep breathing exercises experienced significant improvements in blood pressure within one month, which may have benefits for overall health.
Deep breathing lowers blood pressure
To understand how these deep breathing exercises can be beneficial for our health, researchers from the University of Colorado in the US found that just five minutes of deep breathing exercises a day can lower blood pressure compared to several exercises. Can help in better control.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, states that high-resistance inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) exercises can play a special role in reducing the risks of heart disease by controlling blood pressure. IMST is a device that helps in deep breathing. IMST or self-deep breathing both have similar benefits.
Visible benefits in six weeks
If you do deep breathing exercises even for five minutes daily, it can bring blood pressure under control. For the study, the team of scientists included 36 participants aged 50-79 with high systolic blood pressure (120 mm Hg or higher). Half did IMST for six weeks, while the other half did normal exercise.
When assessed after six weeks, people in the IMST group had an average of nine points lower in systolic blood pressure. This was generally found to be as effective as 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.
What do researchers say?
Daniel Craighead, Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University and lead author of the research, said: "We found that deep breathing exercises are not only more effective than traditional exercises but the benefits can be sustained over a longer period." Participants also saw improvements in their levels of nitric oxide, which helps keep arteries healthy and open, and unfortunately naturally declines with age.
Deep breathing exercises are beneficial in many ways
The researchers concluded that those who practiced IMST for six weeks also had reduced markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, which can also increase the risk of heart attack. It boosts your lung function. The habit of deep breathing exercises has also been found to reduce the risk of mental health disorders such as stress anxiety and increase hyperactivity. Scientists recommend that people of all ages must practice deep breathing.
(PC: Freepik)