Lower your blood pressure with 5 minutes of breathing exercises

There are many drugs available on the market for reduce high blood pressure They are effective, but often have side effects.

If the blood pressure is not very high it is worth trying to control it with respiratory muscle training for 5 minutes a day. In some cases it can be more effective than strength training and better than medication, according to a study from the University of Colorado Boulder, which has been published in the journal American Heart Association.

The exercises are what is known as strength training of the inspiratory muscles (Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training IMST) and could serve to prevent one of the most common causes of death of our time (heart attack).

Respiratory training is done in 5 minutes

Professor of Integrative Physiology Daniel Craighead explains that “there are many methods to maintain stable cardiovascular health as you age, however, not infrequently they are time consuming, disciplined and often expensive, so many people fail. . But IMST takes five minutes and can even be done comfortably while watching TV.”

STMI was developed in the 1980s, especially to help patients with severe respiratory diseases, because it can strengthen the respiratory muscles and relieve symptoms.

The respiratory muscles include the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, that is, the muscles between the ribs that form the chest wall.

During the IMST, you breathe through a small device, a respiratory or lung trainer, It offers an adjustable resistance to inspiration.

6 weeks of training are as effective as antihypertensives

Typical training with the IMST device is done for half an hour a day with low resistance in case of respiratory diseases.

However, in recent years, Professor Craighead and his colleagues have found that training with about 30 inhalations per day with strong resistance six days a week could lead to improvements in cardiovascular health, as well as cognitive and athletic performance.

The study included 36 adults (50-79 years) with elevated blood pressure (his systolic blood pressure was greater than 120 mmHg). Half completed the respiratory training described (IMST with high resistance) for 6 weeks, the other half served as placebo group and did the training with very low resistance.

at the end of the examsystolic blood pressure in the STEMI group had decreased by an average of 9 mmHg, a result that even some blood pressure medications cannot overcome. If you wanted to achieve this goal, for example, by walking at a brisk pace, you would have to train for 30 minutes 5 days a week.

It was also impressive that the positive changes in blood pressure persisted for a period of another 6 weeks, even though the study participants were no longer practicing SMI during that time.

“Breathing in this way not only requires less time than regular exercise programs, but also its positive effects seem to last longer.” said Professor Craighead.

This is how breathing training lowers blood pressure

breathing training lowers blood pressure by significantly increasing the level of nitric oxide in the blood. Nitric oxide is a substance that can be produced by cells in the walls of blood vessels and relaxes arteries. This promotes blood circulation and prevents deposits on the walls of the blood vessels.

As a result, the IMST group showed a 45 percent improvement in vascular function (endothelial function), which means that arteries can quickly and easily expand and contract as needed.

Since the level of nitric oxide decreases with age, other measures can be taken to ensure a higher level such as drink a glass of beet juice every day and eat plenty of green leafy vegetables.

It is also considered that a dietary supplement with the amino acid L-arginine increases nitric oxide and thus promotes blood circulation, lowers blood pressure and increases performance.

In addition to breathing training it decreases the inflammation values ​​of the participants and also the oxidative stress values. If these values ​​increase, an increased risk of heart attack should be expected.

Respiratory training for menopausal women

Breath training can also be good for menopausal women. Previous studies indicate that these women cannot achieve as good results in terms of vascular health through resistance training like men, especially if they do not receive estrogen treatment. However, his blood vessels responded to the breathing training without any problem.

Also for athletes

If you’re a runner, you may be able to reach your fitness goals faster with IMST. “When you run a marathon, your respiratory muscles tire over time, requiring more blood to be drawn from the skeletal muscles. But that, in turn, leads to leg fatigue,” explains Professor Craighead, who uses IMST breathing training for his own marathon training.

“If you strengthen your respiratory muscles, the described effect will take longer to appear and your legs won’t get tired.”

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