5 Easy Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure

High blood pressure can put you at a higher risk for both heart attack and stroke. Fortunately, you can lower your risk for these conditions with easy, stress-free techniques to improve your blood pressure — and you don’t even have to hit the gym for hours or switch to a strict diet. Here’s how:

Add More Movement to Your Day

The American Heart Association recommends every adult participate in 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week for better cardiovascular health. According to Andrew Waters, MD, FACC, RPVI, cardiologist at AdventHealth, "Exercise is beneficial in reducing cardiovascular risk. Even modest amounts of physical activity have the ability to provide cardiovascular protection."

And if finding the time in your day to exercise is a challenge (it is for most of us), it may be a relief to know that you don’t have to do the 150 minutes all at once; you can break it up into small chunks spread throughout your week.

Sneak in more movement by:

• Taking a walk on your lunch break
• Taking the stairs instead of an elevator
• Walking instead of driving, when possible
• Walking the dog instead of letting them out in the yard

Even these tiny bits of activity can add up to your 150 minutes of physical activity each week if you keep at it.

Eat Less Salt

Sodium causes your body to hold onto extra fluid, which increases your blood pressure. By eating less salt, you can maintain the right balance of fluid in your body for a healthy blood pressure. For individuals who already have hypertension, Dr. Waters adds that, "maintaining a dietary sodium level of less than 2000 mg per day is beneficial."

Some techniques to reduce salt intake include:

• Avoiding highly processed foods
• Buying reduced-sodium products
• Reducing the salt in your recipes
• Replacing salt with herbs and spices
• Rinsing canned foods that are high in sodium

Your goal should be to take in less than 2400 mg of salt each day.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables have many benefits for your heart health. Bananas, avocados and leafy greens contain potassium. Potassium helps relax blood vessels and also counteracts the effects of salt. These higher levels of potassium, according to Dr. Waters, "help regulate sodium levels by telling the kidneys to excrete extra sodium through the urine. This helps lower blood pressure by reducing water retention within the blood vessels."

It can be easy to add more fruits and vegetables to your day. You can:

• Add vegetables to soups and pastas
• Eat a serving as an afternoon snack
• Enjoy salad before lunch or dinner
• Have a vegetable side dish with dinner
• Have a fruit with your breakfast

Add one new serving to your day at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed by changes to your diet.

Sleep Well

While sleep doesn’t seem like a top-of-mind solution for lowering your blood pressure, it’s actually a very important way for your body to refresh itself. "Ideally, people should be aiming to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep to maximize the long-term benefits," said Dr. Waters. People who are sleep-deprived have a higher risk of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes — all of which affect your heart health. "Under ordinary circumstances, sleep results in a 10% to 20% drop in blood pressure that effectively reduces the wear and tear on the cardiovascular system."

Learn more about recommendations for sleep for every stage of life, as well as tips for improving your sleep quality.

See Your Physician

Your primary care physician can help monitor your blood pressure and identify which evidence-based strategies for improving heart health are right for you. "Although high blood pressure is typically not symptomatic, it is still beneficial to treat despite the lack of symptoms to prevent complications of chronic high blood pressure in the future," said Dr. Waters. Your primary care provider can offer guidance on your diet, exercise routine, weight loss goals and sleep quality — as well as connect you with valuable programs like smoking cessation classes — all in an effort to help lower your blood pressure.

A heart care specialist can also work with you to manage your heart health and conditions. Learn more about the care they provide and how it benefits your whole health.