There are many ways you can promote healthy blood pressure – including mindfulness. Find out how mindfulness can help with blood pressure.
According to late-breaking science presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2022, mindfulness may help lower blood pressure. The results suggest that mindfulness led to notably lower systolic blood pressure after six months of participation in a customized mindfulness program.
Since high blood pressure (hypertension) affects nearly half of U.S. adults, it’s important to manage it effectively. Otherwise, it increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are top causes of death in the U.S.
Mindfulness and Blood Pressure
The program emphasized the development of skills like attention control, self-awareness, and emotion regulation and applied them to health behavior change. According to lead study author Eric B. Loucks, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology and director of the Mindfulness Center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, this may provide a novel way to treat blood pressure.
“Mindfulness is non-judgmental, present-moment awareness of physical sensations, emotions and thoughts,” says Loucks. “It is almost like a scientist curiously and objectively observing the information coming in through the sense organs and the mind, and then responding skillfully to that information. Mindfulness also involves the concept of remembering, or in other words, remembering to bring one’s wisdom (wherever it was gained, such as from health care professionals or public health messages) into the present moment. Wisdom in the context of elevated blood pressure levels may include knowledge that evidence-based practices, such as physical activity, diet, limited alcohol consumption and antihypertensive medication adherence, can improve well-being.”
Participants were divided into two groups: an enhanced usual care group and a mindfulness program, also called the Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP) group. After six months, the researchers found that participants in the MB-BP group had an average drop in systolic blood pressure of 5.9 mm Hg, compared to a 1.4 mm Hg reduction in the enhanced usual care group.
The MB-BP group also reduced their sedentary sitting by an average of 351 minutes each week compared to the enhanced usual care group. However, there were no notable changes in diastolic blood pressure for either group.
Improving Blood Pressure
While more research is necessary to confirm the results, Loucks believes the intervention is promising for lowering blood pressure. In fact, when researchers analyzed the dietary changes, they found that participants in the MB-BP group were more likely to eat heart-healthy foods.
Following heart-healthy practices like eating healthy and meditating can help lower your stress levels as well as help you deal with stress in a healthy way. Another habit that may help give you an extra health boost is taking supplements like L-arginine Plus.
Its ingredients promote circulation, blood pressure, cholesterol, and more. Give your blood pressure the support it needs by practicing mindfulness, eating healthily, and taking L-arginine Plus.