A blood pressure reading is taken to measure how forcefully your blood flows through your circulatory system. There are two numbers associated with blood pressure:
Systolic: This is the higher number and measures blood pressure during a heartbeat.
Diastolic: This is the lower number and measures blood pressure in between heartbeats.
What time of day is blood pressure highest?
Usually, blood pressure starts to rise a few hours before a person wakes up. It continues to rise during the day, peaking in midday. Blood pressure typically drops in the late afternoon and evening. Blood pressure is usually lower at night while sleeping.
How do you know if you have high blood pressure?
High blood pressure doesn’t cause many symptoms. Checking it regularly is the only way to know if your blood pressure is high or low.
Diagnosing high blood pressure
Only a licensed healthcare professional can diagnose high blood pressure. Your doctor will check your blood pressure to see what your reading is.
If your doctor suspects that your high blood pressure is the symptom of another medical condition, you’ll need to complete more specific tests to learn more. If another condition is discovered, treating it should have a positive impact on your blood pressure.
Treatments for high blood pressure
If your blood pressure is elevated and you want to see an immediate change, lie down and take deep breaths. This is how you lower your blood pressure within minutes, helping to slow your heart rate and decrease your blood pressure.
When you feel stress, hormones are released that constrict your blood vessels. This produces a temporary spike in your blood pressure.
By pausing to quiet your mind and body, these hormone levels will decrease. This will help lower your blood pressure to normal levels.
How does diet affect high blood pressure?
Experts agree that changing your diet can lower your blood pressure. One of the first changes your doctor will recommend is reducing the amount of sodium you eat. Salty foods cause you to retain fluids, which can lead to an increase in blood pressure.
You should also focus on eating unprocessed foods that are rich in nutrients and fiber. Fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains should make up the core of your diet. Processed foods and refined grains and sugars are less helpful when trying to lower your blood pressure.
What you drink matters for cardiovascular health as much as what you eat. Alcohol, caffeinated beverages, and sugary sodas are shown to increase the risk of high blood pressure. Cutting back on these types of drinks will help you get your blood pressure down to your ideal levels.
Will drinking water lower blood pressure?
Water is not a miracle cure for hypertension. Simply drinking more water without making other diet changes won‘t solve your health problems. Water should instead be part of your bigger plan for healthy eating.
Drinking water has many benefits, including:
Carrying nutrients and oxygen to the rest of your body
Protecting joint function
Protecting organs and other soft tissues
Regulating your body temperature
Water directly benefits blood pressure by helping you maintain the correct electrolyte balance.
Other steps to reduce blood pressure
In addition to changes to diet, you can reduce your blood pressure by making lifestyle changes. Simple changes can have a big impact on your health.
Exercise
Movement is one of the best ways to boost your cardiovascular health. You don’t need to adopt a hardcore workout routine to see benefits. Taking walks or going for bike rides is a great way to add more movement to your day.
Weight loss
Losing weight is one of the most effective ways to improve your blood pressure. Any weight loss is helpful, so you don’t need to feel discouraged if you don’t make dramatic progress.
Stress reduction
The hormones you release in response to stress and anxiety increase your heart rate and constrict your blood vessels.
