Short bursts of physical activity can help get your heart pumping, but regular exercise is key for overall health.
A new study published November 6 in the journal Circulation suggests that adding a few minutes of vigorous physical activity to your daily exercise routine can help lower blood pressure.
The researchers found that an extra 5 minutes of stair climbing, cycling, and running was linked to slight reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure , while clinically meaningful improvements were seen at an additional 10 and 20 minutes of daily exercise.
Less strenuous forms of movement, such as standing or walking, had minimal effects on blood pressure.
"Our findings suggest that, for most people, exercise is key to reducing blood pressure," first author Jo Blodgett, PhD , a senior research fellow at UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health, said in a statement .
"The good news is that whatever your physical ability, it doesn't take long to have a positive effect on blood pressure. But if you want to change your blood pressure, putting more demand on the cardiovascular system through exercise will have the greatest effect," Blodgett continued.
Researchers from University College London and the University of Sydney conducted this study with support from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) .
The research team analyzed health data and blood pressure measurements from 14,761 participants with an average age of 54 from six cohorts in the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep consortium (ProPASS).
They tracked blood pressure changes over 24-hour periods comprising six different activities with the following average durations:
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