For certain individuals, controlling hypertension entails monitoring their measurements and consulting a physician for prescription drugs. However, good blood pressure management can also be significantly influenced by your lifestyle.
Although it’s beneficial to engage in some of these activities throughout the day, evenings are particularly crucial for reducing blood pressure and relaxing after a demanding day.
According to studies, elevated blood pressure during sleep and at night is particularly harmful because it is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes.
Here are six heart-healthy routines you may adopt in the evening to help control blood pressure and safeguard your heart.
1. Limit your salt intake during dinner.
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), eating too much salt, or sodium, might make your heart beat faster, which will increase your blood pressure (1).
Within a few hours, a large salt load (4,000โ8,000 mg of sodium) with the evening meal might raise systolic blood pressure by as much as 40 mmHg.
Long-term health problems might also result from eating excessive amounts of salt. According to the AHA, eating too much salt can restrict your blood vessels, which may also lead to high blood pressure.
Alternatively, consider reducing your daily salt consumption by just 1 teaspoon, as this can have a similar effect on blood pressure reduction as anti-hypertensive drugs. The AHA suggests consuming 1,500 mg of sodium daily (2).
According to the AHA, one teaspoon of salt is comparable to around 2,300 milligrams of sodium.
It goes beyond simply watching how much salt you shake onto your dinner plate. Additionally, you should try to reduce the quantity of packaged and highly processed foods you consume, as these are the main sources of sodium in the typical American diet.
Following the DASH or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension eating plan is often recommended. This plan has been demonstrated to lower high blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels. One recommended approach is to fill your plate with foods that are good for blood pressure according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA) (3).
In fact, systolic blood pressure can drop by as much as 5 to 10 mmHg while following the DASH diet.
Although there are many variations to any diet, you don’t have to adhere to the DASH diet precisely. However, the NCOA offers the following fundamental recommendations to get you started:
- Consume a lot of whole grains, fruits, and veggies.
- Consume beans, nuts, chicken, fish, and vegetable oils.
- Look for dairy products that are low-fat or fat-free.
- Limit desserts and drinks with added sugar.
- Eat fewer foods high in saturated fat.
Related Post: What is Cholesterol & Natural Ways to Lower It
2. Enjoy a fruit salad snack post dinner.
If you have a sweet tooth after supper, try having fruit for dessert instead of sugary food, such as a fruit salad with granola, yogurt, or peanut butter on top. This will assist maintaining a steady blood pressure level.
According to the NCOA, some of the finest fruits to lower blood pressure are as follows:
Bananas: Potassium, which is abundant in bananas, can help reduce blood pressure.
Berries: Anthocyanins, which are antioxidant molecules rich in strawberries and blueberries, have been shown to reduce blood pressure in individuals with hypertension.
Kiwis: Lutein, an antioxidant found in kiwis, may help lower blood pressure.
3. After dinner, go for a walk.
Taking a walk after dinner helps maintain normal blood pressure. It’s true that a mere 15 to 30 minutes of walking following supper can reduce blood pressure by as much as 2 mmHg in the diastolic (bottom number) and up to 4 mmHg in the systolic (top number) (4).
Not only that, but since blood sugar peaks approximately an hour after meals, taking a walk afterward is also a wonderful strategy to help control your blood sugar.
Give your body some time to process before hitting the pavement. Your body will be able to release any food from your stomach after forty minutes, which will make your stroll more comfortable.
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4. Before going to bed, take your blood pressure medication.
When you take blood pressure medication might make a big difference if you take it daily. Taking your medicine right before bed may provide the biggest advantages.
You can avoid high blood pressure while you sleep, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, by taking your blood pressure medication before bed.
In fact, 2019 research found that taking blood pressure medicine at bedtime was about half as likely to prevent heart-related death and disease as taking it in the morning, in a large, randomized study including over 19,000 participants (5).
However, the researchers of the study advise seeing your physician before making any significant adjustments. They might have a valid cause for recommending your medications in the morning. For instance, you may need to take your blood pressure medication more than once a day, or you may take other medications that could interact poorly with it.
5. Maintain a consistent sleep routine.
High blood pressure is linked to irregular sleep patterns, sleep deprivation, and sleep disorders such obstructive sleep apnea.
In fact, the AHA states that individuals who get less than six hours of sleep each night are more likely to develop high blood pressure in addition to other major health issues like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and early death (6).
Getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night is the sweet spot for heart health.
However, when it comes to blood pressure, sleep duration is just one factor to consider. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule is also critical for maintaining appropriate blood pressure levels.
March 2023 research came to such conclusion. People with irregular sleep schedules were more likely to have elevated blood pressure than those who typically went to bed and woke up at the same time every day, according to a large study including over 12,000 adults (7).
Every day, try to go to bed and wake up at roughly the same timeโideally, within a half-hour window. I realize it’s difficult, but keeping to this routine on the weekends can also be beneficial.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest the following additional healthy sleep practices that you can consider implementing (8):
- Steer clear of heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol right before bed.
- Engage in physical activity throughout the day to facilitate easier slumber at night.
- Ensure that your bedroom is calm, dark, cozy, and the ideal temperature.
- Take out of your room all your electronic screens and devices, including phones, computers, and TVs.
6. Adopt a nightly self-care routine.
You might be surprised to learn how much stress can harm your body. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), prolonged stress can even raise blood pressure (9). Chronic stress also causes inflammation in the body, which can worsen heart disease and other health issues.
Establishing a soothing evening ritual might be beneficial in reducing stress and blood pressure following a demanding day. To reduce your blood pressure before going to bed, try a few of these self-care techniques:
Practice thankfulness.
Write down the small things you are grateful for every day in a gratitude journal that you should keep by your bedside. According to VCU Health, doing this not only lowers stress levels and improves blood pressure, but it may also lessen inflammation in your body (10).
Have a nice, relaxing shower or bath.
Just fifteen minutes before going to bed, taking a warm bath or shower will help your blood vessels dilate and drop your blood pressure. Prior to going to bed, the warm water may also aid in muscle relaxation and calmness.
Try infusing your bathing experience with a peaceful aroma, such as eucalyptus or lavender bath salts. These aromas are believed to have a soothing impact.
Try relaxing your muscles gradually.
In this mind-body exercise, you will inhale deeply, tensing and then relaxing specific muscle regions. You can finish this in bed before going to sleep. Beginning with your feet, work your way up to your face, neck, arms, butt, belly, and calves. Continue doing this for ten to twenty minutes, or until the top of your head is reached.
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To Wrap Things Up
Developing these nighttime practices can have a big impact on controlling hypertension and enhancing general heart health. These activities, which range from taking walks after dinner and creating a regular sleep schedule to practicing mindful eating that minimizes salt intake, are not only about lowering blood pressure but also about promoting a better lifestyle.
The advantages can be further amplified by incorporating stress-reduction strategies like gratitude writing or a soothing bath along with medication management. Maintaining the constancy of these activities is the key to improved heart health. Consulting with a physician for individualized treatment care is also essential to ensuring that these modifications successfully complement any existing treatment programs.
Don’t have time for the full article? Read this! The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting salt intake during dinner to reduce blood pressure and protect the heart. The DASH diet, which includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, chicken, fish, and vegetable oils, is recommended for lowering high blood pressure and improving cholesterol levels. Fruit salad snacks can help maintain a steady blood pressure level.
After dinner, walking can reduce blood pressure by up to 2 mmHg in the diastolic and up to 4 mmHg in the systolic. Taking blood pressure medication before bedtime can help prevent heart-related death and disease. A consistent sleep routine is crucial for heart health, with seven to nine hours of sleep a night being the best.
Other healthy sleep practices include avoiding heavy meals, caffeine, alcohol, physical activity, and removing electronic devices. A nightly self-care routine can help reduce stress and blood pressure. Practicing gratitude and journaling small things can also help reduce stress and blood pressure.
Source |
- How much harm can a little excess salt do? Plenty | American Heart Association
- Shaking the Salt Habit to Lower High Blood Pressure | American Heart Association
- How Older Adults Can Lower Blood Pressure with These 10 Foods (ncoa.org)
- Can walking lower blood pressure? | Live Science
- Bedtime BP meds may cut heart risk by almost half : large randomised study – PMC (nih.gov)
- Irregular sleep schedule linked to high blood pressure | American Heart Association
- Sleep Irregularity Is Associated With Hypertension: Findings From Over 2 Million Nights With a Large Global Population Sample – PubMed (nih.gov)
- Tips for Better Sleep | CDC
- Stress effects on the body (apa.org)
- How gratitude can help your heart | VCU Health
This is great advice! I’ll have to pass this on to my family who struggle with their blood pressure.
Thank you so much! ๐
Such great advice! As the weather is getting nicer, I will start implementing the evening walks! Much healthier than sitting on the couch scrolling TikTok!
So true! I love my evening walks and it made an improvement for me ๐ Thank you for stopping by!
Reducing salt really helps with keeping blood pressure regulated. Great tips, thanks for sharing!
My pleasure! ๐
I feel fortunate to not suffer from high blood pressure, however, I know many people who do. These are such easy habits to implement to help lower blood pressure. Great article!
Awesome! Thank you so much ๐
Thanks for this post, will bookmark this one to show it to some family members who are suffering from high blood pressure.
Youโre most welcome! I hope they find it helpful!
These are great tips! I always try and walk for a bit after dinner!
Awesome! Thank you for stopping byโบ๏ธ
These are really important things that I think more and more people need to start doing, especially with all the yucky food we have that’s making us sick.
Exactly! Besides observing the nutritional content to avoid getting sick, getting to know where your food is being sourced from is so crucial too ๐