A recent study has found that engaging in just five minutes of daily exercise can help lower blood pressure. The research, conducted by an international team led by the University of Sydney and University College London, suggests that brief activities such as walking uphill or stair climbing could provide significant health benefits.
According to the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep (ProPASS) Consortium, replacing sedentary behavior with 20-27 minutes of daily physical activity can lead to a substantial reduction in blood pressure.
Emmanuel Stamatakis, joint senior author and director of the ProPASS Consortium, emphasized the importance of this finding: “High blood pressure is a major global health concern, but unlike other leading causes of cardiovascular mortality, it may be manageable with relatively accessible lifestyle changes alongside medication.”
Also Read- Beware: Drinking Coffee After Exercise Could Risk Your Blood Pressure
Stamatakis noted, “The discovery that as little as five extra minutes of exercise per day can lead to noticeably lower blood pressure underscores the effectiveness of short, higher-intensity physical activities for managing blood pressure.”
The study analyzed data from 14,761 participants to understand how replacing different types of physical activity impacts blood pressure. The researchers estimated that incorporating at least 20 minutes of exercise daily could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 28%.
The World Health Organization reports that approximately 1.28 billion adults aged 30-79 worldwide have hypertension, with 46% of those affected unaware of their condition.