18 Effective Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure
Medications may help lower your blood pressure. Many dietary and lifestyle changes, such as exercising more, improving your sleep, and limiting sugar and alcohol, could also help.High blood pressure (hypertension) often has no symptoms but is a major risk of heart disease and stroke.Most people’s target blood pressure will be below 120/80 mm Hg. If a person’s blood pressure is 130/80 mm Hg or more, it is high.A reading of 120–129 over less than 80 is elevated blood pressure. This means you’re at risk of developing high blood pressure. Your doctor may recommend some lifestyle tips for managing your blood pressure so that it doesn’t become too high.
1. Get enough exercise
Research suggests that both aerobic and resistance exercise can help delay or manage blood pressure, and that after exercising, blood pressure may be lower for up to 24 hours after.Regular exercise means you regularly increase your heart and breathing rates. Over time your heart gets stronger and pumps with less effort. This puts less pressure on your arteries and lowers your blood pressure.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend doing at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or around 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. For children and teens, the CDC recommend 1 hour of exercise per day.Tips for increasing your activity levels include:
- using the stairs
- walking instead of driving
- doing household chores
- gardening
2. Manage weight
Having additional body weight puts a strain on the heart and the cardiovascular system. This can raise blood pressure.If your body mass index (BMI) is 25 or over, losing 5–10 pounds can help reduce your blood pressure. It can also lower the risk of other health problems.The three key ways of doing this are to:
- move more
- eat less
- eat healthily
3. Cut back on sugar and refined carbohydrates
Restricting sugar and refined carbohydrates may help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure.A 2020 study compared how various popular diets affected people’s weight and cardiovascular risk.People with overweight or obesity who followed low carb and low fat diets saw their diastolic blood pressure fall by an average of about 5 mm Hg and their systolic blood pressure by 3 mm Hg after 6 months.
4. More potassium, less salt
Increasing your potassium intake and cutting back on salt can help lower your blood pressure.A high salt intake can increase the risk of blood pressure, while reducing salt intake lowers it. Experts don’t know exactly why this happens, but water retention and inflammation in the blood vessels may contribute.Potassium helps the body eliminate salt and eases tension in your blood vessels.High potassium foods include:
- dried fruit, such as apricots and prunes
- milk and yogurt
- lentils and kidney beans
- vegetables, such as potatoes, tomatoes, and spinach
5. Following a heart-healthy diet
The National Institutes of Health recommend the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) as a heart-healthy option.The DASH diet emphasizes:
- eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
- consuming low or zero-fat dairy products
- eating fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils
- limiting foods that are high in saturated fats and added sugars
6. Limit processed food
Processed foods are often high in salt, added sugar, and unhealthy fats. They may lead to weight gain. All these factors can contribute high blood pressure.Examples include:
- processed meats
- many fast or fried foods
- processed snacks
Foods labeled low fat may be high in salt and sugar to compensate for the loss of fat. Fat is what gives food taste and makes you feel full.Eating less processed food will help you eat less salt, less sugar, and fewer refined carbohydrates. All of this can result in lower blood pressure.
7. Quit or avoid smoking
Smoking can affect your all-around health, including your blood pressure.In the long term, the chemicals in tobacco can increase your blood pressure by:
- damaging your blood vessel walls
- causing inflammation
- narrowing your arteries
The hardened arteries cause higher blood pressure.The chemicals in tobacco can affect your blood vessels even if you’re around secondhand smoke.
8. Managing stress
Finding ways to manage stress is important for your health and your blood pressure.Ways of relieving stress depend on the individual but can include:
- practicing deep breathing
- taking a walk
- reading a book
- listening to music
- mindfulness
- meditation
9. Eat some dark chocolate
Dark chocolate typically contains 70–85% cacao.Cacao contains flavonoids, an antioxidant that may help lower blood pressure. These flavonoids may help dilate, or widen, your blood vessels.However, the American Heart Association notes that while eating a little dark chocolate is unlikely to be harmful, the amount a person is likely to eat per day will probably not provide enough flavonoids to produce health benefits.Chocolate that is high in sugar, fat, or calories may not be beneficial.
10. Try these medicinal herbs
Some herbal medicines may help lower blood pressure. However, more research is needed to identify the doses and components in the herbs that are most useful.Some plants and herbs that people use to lower blood pressure include:
- black bean (Castanospermum australe)
- cat’s claw (Uncaria rhynchophylla)
- celery juice (Apium graveolens)
- Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida)
- ginger root
- giant dodder (Cuscuta reflexa)
- Indian plantago (blond psyllium)
- maritime pine bark (Pinus pinaster)
- river lily (Crinum glaucum)
- roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
- sesame oil (Sesamum indicum)
- tomato extract (Lycopersicon esculentum)
- tea (Camellia sinensis), especially green tea and oolong tea
- umbrella tree bark (Musanga cecropioides)
11. Get quality sleep
Sleep deprivation may increase the risk of high blood pressure.One reason may be that your blood pressure typically dips when you’re sleeping. If you don’t sleep well, you may not experience this phase.Tips for sleeping well include:
- setting a regular sleep schedule
- exercising during the day but not too close to bedtime
- sleeping in a cool, darkened room
- leaving devices outside the sleeping room
- not eating or drinking caffeine or alcohol too close to bedtime
12. Eat garlic or take garlic extract supplements
Fresh garlic or garlic extract may help lower blood pressure.One review found that for people with high blood pressure, garlic supplements reduced their systolic blood pressure by up to about 5 mm Hg and their diastolic blood pressure by up to 2.5 mm Hg.
13. Eat healthy high-protein foods
A 2015 study of data for over 1,300 people suggested that people who eat a higher protein diet had a 40% lower long-term risk of high blood pressure. Those who combined this with a high fiber intake had a 60% lower risk.This was true whether the protein was animal or plant based.Previous studies had already suggested that consuming protein may lower blood pressure in the short term.High-protein foods include:
- fish, such as salmon or canned tuna in water
- eggs
- poultry, such as chicken breast
- lean beef
- beans and legumes, such as kidney beans and lentils
- nuts or nut butter, such as peanut butter
- chickpeas
- low fat cheese and other dairy products
Anyone considering switching to a high protein diet should first speak with a doctor, as it may not be suitable for everyone. It is also essential to balance different types of protein and to balance protein foods with other items.
14. Take supplements to lower blood pressure
Supplements that may help manage blood pressure include:
- omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids or fish oil
- whey protein
- magnesium
- potassium
However, there is not enough evidence to confirm that most supplements can manage blood pressure.Always check with a doctor before using a supplement, as not all supplements are safe for everyone. They may worsen other conditions or interact with existing drugs.
15. Limit alcohol intake
A 2020 review found that consuming 30 g or more of alcohol appears to increase the heart rate for up to 24 hours. Blood pressure, meanwhile, tends to fall for the first 12 hours but then increases.A standard drink contains around 14 grams of alcohol.Despite the hype, drinking a lot of red wine is not beneficial for heart health, according to the American Heart Association.They suggest limiting alcohol intake to two standard drinks per day for males and one per day for females.A drink is:
- one 12-ounce beer
- 4 ounces of wine
- 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits
- 1 ounce of 100-proof spirits
16. Review your caffeine intake
People who usually consume 1–3 cups of coffee per day are unlikely to experience a rise in blood pressure.However, your blood pressure might go up if you consume a lot of coffee or even a small amount when you are not used to it.In contrast, high-caffeine energy drinks may increase blood pressure and, with that, the risk of cardiovascular problems. Experts discourage the consumption of energy drinks, especially among minors with existing health conditions.If you find that caffeine is affecting how you feel, you might want to try decaffeinated coffee.
17. Drink water
Some research suggests that drinking 550 milliliters (ml) of water within 2 hours of waking up and another 550 ml 2 hours before bedtime may help reduce blood pressure. However, more research is needed.Water can boost overall health and may have many other benefits.
18. Take prescription medication
If your blood pressure is very high or doesn’t decrease after making these lifestyle changes, your doctor may recommend prescription drugs, depending on your blood pressure level and other factors.Talk with your doctor about possible medications and what might work best for you.