Just 30 minutes of exercise each morning can be as effective as medication in lowering blood pressure for the rest of the day. The study found that a short morning walk on a treadmill has long-lasting effects, with additional short walks throughout the day providing further benefits. In the experiments, 35 women and 32 men between the ages of 55 and 80 followed three different daily plans, in random order, with at least six days between each. The first plan consisted of uninterrupted sitting for 8 hours, while the second consisted of 1 hour of sitting before 30 minutes of walking on a moderate-intensity treadmill, followed by 6.5 hours of sitting. The final plan consisted of 1 hour of sitting before 30 minutes of treadmill walking, followed by 6.5 hours of sitting, which was interrupted every 30 minutes by 3 minutes of light-intensity walking. The study was conducted in the laboratory to standardize results, and men and women ate the same meals the evening before the study and during the day. Michael Wheeler of the University of Western Australia in Perth and colleagues found that blood pressure was lower in men and women who participated in the exercise plans, compared with when they did not exercise. The effect was particularly pronounced for systolic blood pressure, which measures pressure in blood vessels when the heart is beating and is a stronger predictor of heart problems such as heart attacks, than diastolic blood pressure, which measures pressure in blood vessels when the heart is resting between beats. How long does it take to walk to lower blood pressure? Regular exercise can have an effect on blood pressure after about one to three months. The benefits last only as long as you continue to exercise. Should I walk when I have high blood pressure? For most people, the answer is yes. If you have high blood pressure, you can safely engage in physical activity. But to be safe, it's always a good idea to talk to your doctor or nurse before starting any new physical activity.