You can lower blood pressure quickly at home. Then consult your doctor on next steps
How to lower blood pressure quickly without medication
Over the last 10 years or so, modern science has explained why ancient relaxation practices like slow breathing, meditation and acupressure can help lower blood pressure in minutes [1]. In very simple terms it works like this. These practices put our autonomous nervous system in the ‘rest and digest’ mode. In this mode our blood vessels are dilated to allow for a wider blood stream. Blood pressure comes down.
You can try it yourself. When you feel that your blood pressure is rising, take a reading with a blood pressure monitor. Then try this 2 minute slow breathing exercise from our YouTube channel. Take another reading after the breathing exercise and you are very likely to see that the numbers have come down. You may also try 4-7-8 breathing or box breathing to lower blood pressure.
There are several breathing apps to lower blood pressure on the market which allow to perform these breathing exercises to lower blood pressure off-line
What’s the catch?
If it works so well, how come that hundred of millions who suffer from hypertension across the globe still reach out for an antihypertensive pill instead of performing a slow breathing exercise? Especially given unpleasant side effects that most people experience after taking these medicines?
One reason is that the above mentioned natural relaxation techniques usually produce short term positive effects. The other reason is that unhealthy habits get many people to a stage where their bodies react only to antihypertensive drugs. Finally, a large group of those with hypertension either think of contemplative practices as some kind of mambo jumbo or simply do not have the patience to sit quietly for a few minutes doing basically nothing other than focusing on their breathing.
Can you lower blood pressure long term with this approach?
Ancient relaxation techniques are one important tool in the natural tool kit which helps to lower blood pressure. Combined with other tools, like walking and short High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) exercises plus nutrition changes, they can lower blood pressure within several months. Or even fix it forever.
What is the evidence that one can lower blood pressure instantly?
I was hypertensive and managed to fix my condition permanently with natural tools (no meds). Some very famous individuals, for example, Oprah Winfrey, shared publicly their path to recovery from hypertension with the help of fitness and nutrition changes [1]. Also we have hundreds of feedback comments from users on our YouTube channel and our private support group on Facebook that this approach works.
I acquired anxiety and high blood pressure as a result of work related stress in my mid forties. I know first hand what it means to experience hypertension. Headaches, shortness of breath, bad night sleep, irritation at home and work. I had it all. I could hardly get through the day, had no energy, and could not exercise.
I was lucky to meet a doctor who explained to me that antihypertensive drugs only reduce symptoms. If I wanted to fix the cause of the disease, I had to implement certain lifestyle changes. I dug through a mountain of information, tried numerous contemplative practices, like acupressure for high blood pressure, exercise for high blood pressure, nutrition changes. I figured out what combination of these elements and in what order works best. The Meditation-Fitness-Nutrition method to lower blood pressure naturally was born.
What exactly is the Meditation-Fitness-Nutrition method to lower blood pressure?
If you have tried the breathing exercise for high blood pressure at the beginning of this post, most likely you have observed that your blood pressure came down after it. Does it mean that meditation and other mindfulness practices, i.e. 478 breathing for blood pressure provide a permanent solution? For some people they do. But most people need to take further actions to lower blood pressure permanently.
Our method for addressing high blood pressure naturally consists of the three elements:
- Meditation and several other mindfulness practices
- Fitness workouts, i.e. walking and short HIIT exercises
- Adjustment of nutrition practices: what and when we eat
I have read a lot of research on this topic and personally tried many different techniques. It has taken me less than a year after I was diagnosed with anxiety and high blood pressure to get rid of these chronic conditions using my approach.
What is the science behind this method to lower blood pressure?
None of the elements of this method is new by itself. Each backed by solid scientific research and their effectiveness confirmed by randomised trials done with thousands of patients. You are likely to observe health benefits by introducing these elements into your life in a random order. Here is our blog post which includes links to scientific research on this topic.
But is it enough to do some meditation, exercise and eat healthy to get rid of hypertension forever? Do you know how many Americans comply with the government recommendations for physical activity? Different research produces different numbers but the most optimistic [3] talks about 2/3rds of the population.
To achieve maximum benefit from lowering blood pressure naturally one has to follow a specific plan AND create healthy habits which will help to lower blood pressure in the long run. This is exactly what our method delivers. Its real POWER comes from combining Meditation (and other mindfulness practices), Fitness and Nutrition changes in a specific ORDER and TIMING them properly.
Why is the order and timing of Meditation, Fitness and Nutrition to lower blood pressure so important?
Meditation and other mindfulness practices. Their goal is to reduce blood pressure in the short term. They also lower our anxiety and by doing so they calm us AND give confidence that we are able to deal with our chronic health condition NATURALLY. You can use them to lower blood pressure quickly at home.
This element requires the least effort and produces evident positive results QUICKLY. However, in most cases these positive results do not last long. This is where I started after being diagnosed with anxiety and high blood pressure. Simple breathing exercises demonstrated to me that I can find a natural solution to my blood pressure challenge.
2. Special fitness exercises. This element requires more effort. We have to do moderate aerobic exercise (like brisk walking) walk and short high intensity intervals. Immediate improvement in blood pressure after these exercises for high blood pressure is less evident. The long term effect however is AMAZING! My doctor sent me to a park to walk and jog after work instead of prescribing an antihypertensive drug. After doing some moderate aerobic exercise in the park EVERY SINGLE day for a few weeks I started to see that my average blood pressure readings started to go down.
3. Adjustment of nutrition practices. Ya, I know, you’ve heard it many times before. Eat healthy food and you’ll be good. So, what’s new? How many times has each of us tried a new diet? The new twist here is that once you engage wholeheartedly with the first two elements of the method, the Nutrition element becomes MUCH easier to implement.
After I started exercising regularly my body and mind gradually lost interest in consuming junk food. That juicy hamburger just doesn’t look that attractive anymore. The Nutrition element however goes beyond just eating healthy. Those suffering from hypertension have to increase intake of specific foods which really help to lower blood pressure.
Another powerful tool in this area is limiting food intake to specific times during the day. It has been scientifically proven recently that fasting helps to lower blood pressure [4]. Those willing to try feasting have to follow specific steps to gain benefits rather than get harmed by it. A specific checklist is also a part of my method.
Nutrition changes are notoriously hard to stick with. Yet, they produce a long lasting positive effect IF you combine them timely with the Meditation and Fitness elements.
Update May 2023. Our app BreathNow includes now a 3in1 Program to lower blood pressure, stress and biological age. There is solid scientific evidence that these things are closely linked. BreathNow is complimentary to the Meditation-Fitness-Nutrition method and provides convenient video guides and tools which help to put this method in practice.
