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Breathing exercise lowers blood pressure better than working out, medication
- throw1234651234 5y ago'A five-minute workout that scientists call “strength training for your breathing muscles” is proving to lower blood pressure as well as or even better than traditional exercise and prescription drugs.' This article appears to be a re-print of something published a year or two ago, but I can't find the original atm. I bought the device based on the research, but found the "exercise" to be poorly defined, as with most meditative breathing exercises, and never did it. Was hoping further research was done or the study was replicated, which doesn't appear to be the case, unfortunately.
- Tempest1981 5y agoThis similar article: https://www.eatthis.com/news-imst-high-resistance-inspiratory-muscle-strength-training/ https://www.eatthis.com/news-imst-high-resistance-inspirator... Links to this (also recent) article: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.020980 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.020980 Which links to https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03266510?term=NCT03266510&draw=2&rank=1 https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03266510?term=NCT... Which might be from 2017? Or study began in 2017, updated May 2021?
- Normille 5y agoIs this a similar effect to 'nasal breathing' [0] while running? ie. you're making the cardiovascular system work harder to get the oxygen it needs. [0] https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a33993505/nasal-breathing/ https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a33993505/nasal-breath...
- mmcgaha 5y agoI doubt this is the same thing, but in Jr High, I was complaining that my side hurt doing the mile run and the coach had me breathe through my nose instead of my mouth; sure enough the pain went away.
- vvatermelone 5y agoThat's a very interesting idea. I've always breathed through my mouth while running due to not getting "enough" air through my nose, and also fight with abdominal pains whilst running as well. I'll give this a shot tonight actually, in theory it seems very similar to any other kind of resistance training.
- d4rkp4ttern 5y agoApparently yes, nasal breathing is hugely beneficial. This book was a life changer for me — James Nestor’s Breath: Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art: Nestor, James: 9780735213616: Amazon.com: Books Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art: Nestor, James: 9780735213616: Amazon.com: Books https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735213615 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0735213615 Yes, yes, we all know Pranayama and other ancient sciences already “covered” it, but at least for me, I was totally unaware of the importance and wide ranging benefits of nasal breathing, until I read this book. For me the key take away was: when running, follow 2 simple rules: always breath through your nose, And make your out breath last (much) longer than your in breaths. I started with 2 steps for out, 3 for in, then 2/5, And now i can do 2/7. I use the nasal breathing rule as a guideline to know when I’m running too fast - if you can’t just breath through your nose then you’re running too fast. Over a few weeks of running 3 times/week I was able to increase my distance from 2 to 5 miles.
- JadeNB 5y agoI think that the title mangler struck again—the headline is "5-minute breathing exercise lowers blood pressure". The article doesn't seem to refer to "min breathing", so having that as the article title seems to be an error.
- throw1234651234 5y agoNot sure how this works since I post like 3 articles a year, but I posted the title as "5 Min Breathing Exercise Lowers Blood Pressure" initially and something or someone changed it.
- JadeNB 5y agoYeah, the mangler removes numeric prefixes, I guess to fight against "10 Breathing Exercises You Won't Believe (#7 is Amazing!)"-style clickbait.
- NickM 5y agoHonest question: why do they need an electronic device for this? If the goal is just to provide resistance against breathing, wouldn't it work just as well to suck air through, say, a narrow straw?
- modeless 5y agoYou can buy purely mechanical versions with adjustable resistance. I got one a couple of years ago. Breathing sounds easy but it is real exercise if you set the resistance high enough. I found it unpleasant and stopped doing it, especially because the device gets kind of gross and needs frequent disassembly for washing according to the manual. But I really should probably start again given the low time investment and multiple studies that show a large blood pressure benefit relative to other interventions.
- Someone1234 5y agoThey needed an electrical one because studies like data to analyze. You can easily buy a non-electrical one like the Power Breathe, The Breather, PowerLung, etc. Just look up "Breathing Trainers" at Amazon or similar. As to using "a narrow straw," no, because these resist both your inhale AND exhale, and while it is easy to exhale through a narrow straw trying to inhale just causes the straw to collapse (or you won't get enough air and will have to stop/pass out). They're designed to resist but not limit. After having tried a breathing trainer, it definitely feels like real exercise even just at your desk, and I cannot imagine doing it for 15-minute sessions via a narrow straw.
- drewg123 5y ago> trying to inhale just causes the straw to collapse What about just using a metal straw?
- Someone1234 5y agoWith a metal straw, you solve collapse, but you don't solve restrictive airflow. I'd just buy a breathing trainer with adjustable resistance (start low, set a time goal (e.g. 15 minutes once a day), and increase it one level every session until you fail, then move back one, do a few sessions, then try to move up, repeat).
- LinuxBender 5y agoBreathing exercises work great. I have run across a few things that interact with the vagus nerve. Another technique I didn't expect to work was rubbing my eyes. I only get about 5 points reduction in systolic, but it's something. If you have a BP monitor, try it out. If you get lab-coat hypertension, try it at the doctors office.
- RappingBoomer 5y agoI gotta try this one out
- mirekrusin 5y agoGreat, so I can vape on high air resistance to induce low blood pressure?
- fudged71 5y agoIs it possible to buy a cheap device off alibaba?
- hollander 5y agoYES, but will it work?
- swader999 5y agoIts weird that they are showing mouth breathing with a device. Just do nose breathing and slow down the exhale and the inhale for a total of about 5-6 breathes per minute. Go to google and search on "breathing exercise" and you get a little app that will help you dial in this pace. This too will lower your blood pressure, help you focus and reduce anxiety!
- DennisP 5y agoThe point is to add resistance to strengthen your breathing muscles, not just to slow down your breathing rate.
- _def 5y agoOr imagine breathing out through a straw
- mmkhd 5y agoThe exercise is for breathing in. You probably could add resistance by pursing your lips but with a device results will be more reproducible. I have an Ultrabreath (made in UK) from Amazon that seems to be the simple analog equivalent if the fancy electronic device in the video. Now that I know that it might help with blood pressure I will try using it seriously. (Edit: spelling)
- bane 5y agoI have sometimes high blood pressure. 5-10 minutes of slow focused breathing almost always bring it down from "you may need to see a doctor" to "maybe think about possibly getting some regular cardio". It's amazing. The only other thing that does it as much is alcohol, and that has a number of negative side effects later.
- silicon2401 5y agoAlcohol increases blood pressure in the short and long terms: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/blood-pressure/faq-20058254 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pr...
- bane 5y agoExcept while drinking it. You can measure it yourself if you have a blood pressure cuff and the presence of mind to take some readings. The next few days will send it pretty high and it'll level off a bit higher after.
- silicon2401 5y agoI think you didn't read my link; this is literally the first paragraph. > Having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily raises your blood pressure, but repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases.
- bane 5y agoI don't have to read it because I can measure it. Guess what the measurements say?
- silicon2401 5y agoNot interested in guessing or continuing the convo as you've already made up your mind, take care
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- amriksohata 5y agomuch more effective just doing yoga by hindu sages
- tomComb 5y agoThis appears to be based on this Novel 5-minute workout improves blood pressure, may boost your brain (2019-02-15) https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/02/25/novel-workout-improves-health https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/02/25/novel-workout-impr... Lowering Blood Pressure in 5 Minutes (2019-02-24) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KueabH8B8M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KueabH8B8M University of Colorado Boulder
- giantg2 5y agoYou can also use those grip strengtheners and hold it for 2 minutes. Repeat a few times. Supposed to reduce blood pressure. The thing that would reduce my blood pressure the most is quitting my job.
- agumonkey 5y agowhenever I escape toxic locations to hide in my car I can feel the blood reach my toes again where (and whom with) you spend your time matters a lot
- wolverine876 5y ago> You can also use those grip strengtheners and hold it for 2 minutes. Repeat a few times. Supposed to reduce blood pressure. Is there a study backing this up? The OP is research on people actually using the device. Lots of things, without studies, are mentioned on the Internet as providing health benefits.
- giantg2 5y agoIt was recommended by a doctor. A quick search shows WebMD linking to two studies. https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20041008/handgrip-exercises-may-lower-blood-pressure https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/...
- leke 5y agoIt is possible to reproduce this without the machine? Like maybe go for a run?
- jachee 5y agoNot in 5 minutes’ time.
- new_guy 5y agoThere's a whole branch of Indian science devoted to this. Pranayama. Check out 'The Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath' - http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1903sciencebreath.pdf http://www.yogebooks.com/english/atkinson/1903sciencebreath....
- cwkoss 5y agoDoes the device have to create negative pressure or does a constricted airway have the same effect? I'm no expert - but it seems to me that, so long as you're able to breathing at same rate and resistance, a small negative pressure (ex. with a powered fan) would be aerodynamically equivalent to a constricted airway (ex. breathing through a tube). Is a powered device meaningfully different than just breathing through a boba straw or similar (would be much cheaper...)
- smarx007 5y agoA Russian High-Resistance Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training (IMST) technique: https://youtu.be/yPAYTeoWsiI https://youtu.be/yPAYTeoWsiI (unfortunately, only narrated in Russian). IMST is weird at first, typically you synchronise exhalation with the greatest strain but it’s reversed in IMST. And rapid inhaling really means rapid in an IMST exercise.
- SavantIdiot 5y agoIs this the same devices as a regular inspirometer, like this: https://lamusainstrumentos.es/en/smile-plus.html https://lamusainstrumentos.es/en/smile-plus.html
- treeman79 5y agoCareful with these kinds of advice. Doctor took my off blood pressure meds and I had a small stroke. Fun times.
- Ice_cream_suit 5y agoTime‐Efficient Inspiratory Muscle Strength Training Lowers Blood Pressure and Improves Endothelial Function, NO Bioavailability, and Oxidative Stress in Midlife/Older Adults With Above‐Normal Blood Pressure "We performed a double‐blind, randomized, sham‐controlled trial to investigate whether 6 weeks of IMST (30 breaths/day, 6 days/week) improves blood pressure, endothelial function, and arterial stiffness in midlife/older adults ... Thirty‐six participants completed high‐resistance IMST (75% maximal inspiratory pressure, n=18) or low‐resistance sham training (15% maximal inspiratory pressure, n=18).. Casual systolic blood pressure decreased from 135±2 mm Hg to 126±3 mm Hg (P<0.01) with IMST, which was ≈75% sustained 6 weeks after IMST (P<0.01), whereas IMST modestly decreased casual diastolic blood pressure (79±2 mm Hg to 77±2 mm Hg, P=0.03);" https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.020980 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.020980 So 18 participants, with a drop in diastolic by 2 mm Hg. Much hype. Essentially clickbait for the statistically challenged.
- a0-prw 5y agoYou'll have to explain this to me (I must be statistically challenged). I read it as the 18 on the high level setting decreased about 9. The control group decreased by 2.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- pleb_nz 5y agoSome sports people have been known to wear medical facemasks as it's harder to breathe and the increased fitness. I believe some boxers have been known to use this method.
- msravi 5y agoIn yoga, this kind of deliberate, deep, controlled breathing is called Prānāyāma, and literally means "breath control" or "life-force control"
- morpheos137 5y agoPeople who are not breathing longer than about 5 minutes have extremely low blood pressure.
- kamalhm 5y agoNow how can I increase my blood pressure?
- kimchidude 5y ago"Simply put, as you suck in air, the tube tries to suck it back in." I can picture what they mean, but this is terribly awkward wording.