- High blood pressure affects 116 million adults in the United States, and often goes undetected.
- Wall sits could be the most effective exercise to lower blood pressure, new research shows.
- Doctors recommend a 14 minute wall sit routine, three times a week.
Got a wall and a few minutes of spare time? Try a wall-sit! This simple exercise may help lower your blood pressure — and keep it low, according to new research.
Aerobic exercise training like running, swimming and cycling have traditionally been recommended for lowering blood pressure. But it turns out, a simple wall-sit may be even more effective at lowering blood pressure, according to new research published July 25 in the medical journal BMJ.
Researchers looked at 270 studies from 1990 until February 2023, and found that wall sits reaped more benefits when it came to lowering blood pressure than other types of exercise, including aerobic exercise training, strength training, high intensity interval training (HIIT), and walking.
Hypertension is known as the "silent killer"
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is when the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your heart is too high. Over time, this can cause damage to your arteries, and lead to serious, potentially life-threatening complications like heart attack or stroke.
Hypertension often doesn't have any symptoms, which have led health care professionals to dub it the "silent killer." In the United States, a blood pressure reading above 130 for the top number, or 80 for the bottom number, is considered a blood pressure.
High blood pressure is also very common, in the United States it affects 47% of adults — roughly 116 million people — and contributed to 670,000 deaths in 2020.
Low-impact exercise lowers blood pressure
"Overall, isometric exercise training is the most effective mode in reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure," the authors said in the paper.
One major benefit of these exercises is that they can be done almost anywhere, and require no equipment. Plus, they take very little time.
"You truly only need your body," Dr. Tamanna Singh, co-director of the Sports Cardiology Center at Cleveland Clinic, told the New York Times. "You don't even need your shoes."
To effectively incorporate wall-sits into your routine, Dr. Jamie Edwards, a researcher at Canterbury Christ Church University and study's lead author, told the New York Times that people should do wall sits for two minutes, followed by a two minutes of rest, repeated four times, for a total of fourteen minutes. Edwards recommends completing this routine four times a week. He also said to make sure that you don't hold your breath while you complete the routine.
Although wall-sits may be more effective than other types of exercises at lowering blood pressure — especially for those who already have hypertension — Edwards said that you should do wall-sits in combination with your typical workout routine, whether that's cardio or strength training. Additionally, he recommends talking with your doctor to ensure its safe for you to do isometric exercises.
Mshtuko wa damu wa juu huathiri watu wazima milioni 116 nchini Marekani, na mara nyingi haugunduliwi. Kuketi kwenye ukuta ni mazoezi bora ya kupunguza shinikizo la damu, utafiti mpya unaonyesha Madaktari wanapendekeza kukaa kwa dakika 14 mara tatu kwa wiki. Got ukuta na dakika chache za muda wa bure? Jaribu kuketi ukutani! Mazoezi haya rahisi yanaweza kusaidia kupunguza shinikizo lako la damu <unk> na kulishika chini, kulingana na utafiti mpya. Mazoezi ya aerobic kama vile kukimbia, kuogelea na kuendesha baiskeli yamependekezwa kwa kawaida kwa kupunguza shinikizo la damu. "Kutembea kwa muda mrefu kwenye ukuta kunaweza kupunguza shinikizo la damu, kulingana na utafiti uliochapishwa Julai 25 katika jarida la matibabu la BMJ.""" Watafiti walichunguza utafiti uliofanywa na wataalamu wa afya wa miaka ya 1990 hadi 2013, na kugundua kuwa kukaa kwenye ukuta kuna faida zaidi kwa kupunguza shinikizo la damu kuliko aina nyingine za mazoezi, ikiwa ni pamoja na mazoezi ya aerobic, mazoezi ya nguvu, mazoezi ya muda mrefu (HIIT) na kutembea. Hypertension ni ugonjwa wa damu unaoitwa silent killer, na unatokana na shinikizo la damu la juu, ambalo ni hali ya damu kushinikiza kwa nguvu dhidi ya ukuta wa moyo. Baada ya muda, hii inaweza kusababisha uharibifu wa mishipa yako, na kusababisha matatizo makubwa, uwezekano wa kuhatarisha maisha kama mshtuko wa moyo au kiharusi. "Ugonjwa wa shinikizo la damu la juu mara nyingi hauna dalili, na hivyo wataalamu wa afya wamemwita ""muuaji asiye na sauti.""" Katika nchi za Ulaya, shinikizo la damu la juu zaidi ya 130 (nambari ya juu) na chini zaidi ya 80 (nambari ya chini) ni shinikizo la damu. Mshtuko wa damu wa juu pia ni wa kawaida sana, nchini Marekani huathiri 47% ya watu wazima - karibu watu milioni 116 - na kuchangia vifo 670,000 mnamo 2020. "Mazoezi ya mazoezi ya isometric ni njia bora ya kupunguza shinikizo la damu la systolic na diastolic, ""alisema utafiti huo." Faida moja kubwa ya mazoezi hayo ni kwamba yanaweza kufanywa karibu mahali popote, na hayahitaji vifaa. Isitoshe, huchukua muda mfupi sana. "Hakuna kitu kingine ambacho mtu anaweza kufanya isipokuwa kuimarisha mwili wake,"" alisema Tamana Singh, mkurugenzi wa Kituo cha Matibabu ya Moyo cha Cleveland, katika taarifa iliyotolewa na gazeti la New York Times." "Hauitaji hata viatu vyako". "Kwa hivyo, kwa sababu ya kuingizwa kwa ""kukaa ukutani"" katika mazoezi ya kawaida, Daktari Jamie Edwards, mtafiti wa Chuo Kikuu cha Canterbury Christ Church na mwandishi mkuu wa utafiti huo, aliwaambia waandishi wa habari kwamba watu wanapaswa kufanya ""kukaa ukutani"" kwa dakika mbili, ikifuatiwa na dakika mbili za kupumzika, mara nne, kwa jumla ya dakika kumi na nne." Edwards anapendekeza kufanya hivyo mara nne kwa juma. Pia alisema kuhakikisha kwamba huwezi kushikilia pumzi yako wakati wa kukamilisha utaratibu. Ingawa kukaa ukutani inaweza kuwa na ufanisi zaidi kuliko aina nyingine ya mazoezi katika kupunguza shinikizo la damu - hasa kwa wale ambao tayari wana shinikizo la damu - Edwards alisema kwamba unapaswa kufanya kukaa ukutani pamoja na mazoezi yako ya kawaida ya mazoezi, kama hiyo ni cardio au mafunzo ya nguvu. Kwa kuongezea, anapendekeza kuongea na daktari wako ili kuhakikisha ni salama kwako kufanya mazoezi ya isometric.