The effect of elementary morning classes is comparable to the effect that drugs have to reduce pressure. Scientists have already found many ways to lower blood pressure without drugs. Certain exercises, implants and even light therapy help in this.
Is it possible to find an even simpler tool? Definitely yes. And it was described by Australian scientists. Australian researchers have described, perhaps, the easiest way to lower blood pressure. We are talking about elementary walks. And they have the same effect as drugs. But it is important to know what time of the day they should be performed and how long they should last.
According to the new data, a half-hour morning walk works wonders with blood pressure. An especially noticeable positive effect in older people, leading a sedentary lifestyle or suffering from excess weight. This is stated in the press release of the American Heart Association.
To participate in the tests, researchers invited 67 men and women aged 55 to 80 years. All of them were overweight or obese and not accustomed to constant physical exertion.
Volunteers were given three “scenarios” that had to be followed in any order. In one day, it was prescribed to spend an hour at rest (sit), then for 30 minutes to work out walking on a treadmill with moderate intensity (equivalent to a walk), and then spend another six and a half hours sitting.
Another day should also begin with an hour of sitting and a half-hour “walk” and then go on walking for another three minutes every half hour (by the way, so scientists advise everyone who leads a sedentary lifestyle and wants to reduce the risk of premature death).
Finally, one more day was prescribed to be seated, without any exercise.
Between these experimental days was a six-day break.
It is noted that the study was conducted in a controlled laboratory environment, the power of the participants was the same. Experts measured their blood pressure and adrenaline levels several times over eight hours on each of the three test days.
As a result, the scientists found that the participants’ blood pressure, especially systolic (also called “upper”), was reduced during the days when they were “walking” in the morning.
It is noteworthy that the most significant reduction in blood pressure was observed in women. And precisely in those days, when they were engaged in walking not only in the morning but every half hour during the day. But in men, the pressure decreased equally. Regardless of whether they interrupted their sedentary rest for short “walks” or not.
The authors of the paper emphasize that the effect of elementary morning classes was comparable to the effect that medications have to reduce pressure.
However, researchers find it difficult to explain why the effect of “walking” in women was more pronounced than in men. There is an assumption that this is due to the fact that women were in a state of postmenopause. And so they had a slightly increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
In addition, in men and women, exercise has differently influenced the production of one of the so-called stress hormones – adrenaline (which, in turn, can affect the level of pressure). In men, adrenaline rates were higher in those days when they were engaged in the morning, while in women, on the contrary, they were lower. Researchers in the future want to study this effect in more detail.
The scientific article on the results of this work was published in the journal Hypertension.
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