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Five minutes of exercise a day could lower blood pressure
- data_spy 2y ago"Could" is an interesting choice of word. I know researchers are cautious but that wording makes it meaningless.
- ajkjk 2y agoQuite. "5 minutes of exercise a day could raise blood pressure" is equally accurate.
- Aurornis 2y agoThe headline is about a study that showed increased activity was correlated with decreases in blood pressure. So, no, it's not equally accurate to say the opposite is "equally accurate" unless we're playing pedantic games where we ignore the study and pretend it's all just meaningless words.
- ajkjk 2y agoThat is what we were doing. We were complaining about the use of the word 'could'.
- markerz 2y agoSomewhat related is Betteridge's law of headlines: > Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no. It is based on the assumption that if the publishers were confident that the answer was yes, they would have presented it as an assertion; by presenting it as a question, they are not accountable for whether it is correct or not. I like to swap out any of these maybe-headlines with the exact opposite. It may help us, or it may not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headline... From the article: > Just five minutes of activity a day was estimated to potentially reduce blood pressure, while replacing sedentary behaviours with 20-27 minutes of exercise per day, including uphill walking, stair-climbing, running and cycling, was also estimated to lead to a clinically meaningful reduction in blood pressure. Sounds like 5 minutes of exercise is where it has a statistically significant measurable impact in blood pressure, but 20-27 minutes is where it's a meaningful impact.
- nuclearnice3 2y agoGetting a little beyond the headline, we find they had people wear blood pressure monitors and accelerometers and concluded: > More time spent exercising or sleeping, relative to other behaviors, was associated with lower BP. An additional 5 minutes of exercise-like activity was associated with estimated reductions of –0.68 mm Hg (95% CI, –0.15, –1.21) SBP and –0.54 mm Hg (95% CI, –0.19, 0.89) DBP. Clinically meaningful improvements in SBP and DBP were estimated after 20 to 27 minutes and 10 to 15 minutes of reallocation of time in other behaviors into additional exercise. [1] [1] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.069820 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.0...
- hertzian56 2y agosome people just have a bad genetic soup and do exercise and diet and such and still have hbp well beyond the numbers designated as meaning "high" ultra high etc I didn't see any hard numbers of reduction in the article either, I've read that smoking raises bp by 5-10points which is largely marginal when you look at how inaccurate most bp readings are. I'm skeptical in this selling environment we live in that this isn't all just to sell drugs to people for their whole lives, these are the same people who want to decimate human populations btw
- hombre_fatal 2y ago5-10 points isn't marginal just because there is measurement variance to account for. And just because there's variance doesn't mean you can't fuzz out real numbers. It's like thinking you can stop a timing attack with sleep(random()). I'd be very skeptical of defending something like high blood pressure. People do the same with high cholesterol. It's a bunch of cope and wishful thinking that they're very different from everyone else who gets heart disease, our #1 killer.
- mise_en_place 2y agoExcept those two don't really matter when predicting heart attack or stroke risk. HRV results, EKG results, labile hypertension; these are the indicators of whether or not you're at a risk for a heart attack or stroke. Getting a regular stress test is more important than blindly throwing anti-hypertensives at someone who may not need them in the first place. My smart ring detects if there are potential arrhythmia, same with the Apple Watch. Wearables are far more effective at determining heart attack risk than measuring blood pressure which fluctuates in correspondence with your circadian rhythm.
- seadan83 2y ago> Except those two don't really matter when predicting heart attack or stroke risk. Some cursory googling leads to recent research showing that they do: "According to new research, both high systolic and high diastolic blood pressure can lead to heart attack and stroke." [1] > HRV results I feel there is hype over HRV. Mainly a new thing that watches and other monitors can measure, and the number is being hyped. That put aside, the sources I've listened to have concluded that HRV is not really that valuable. Do you know of research showing otherwise? (grant it, some research is good here, for most things medecine and science there needs to be a lot of research. My impression there is a lot of research around blood pressure, thus I am not digging out more sources to show the counter-point). [1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325861 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325861
- eemil 2y agoHow much more evidence do we need, that exercise is good and any amount is better than none?
- dartos 2y agoMore
- yndoendo 2y agoUntil society has better work-life balance to allow for exercise while allowing for cost effect doctor visit to assign supportive and recognized improvement. Cheerleaders are more useful then people think.
- jimjimjim 2y agoYes, Cheerleading is great exercise and the population would probably be healthier if everyone did it.
- bobthepanda 2y agoCheerleading is actually incredibly dangerous with the number of catastrophic spinal or brain injuries exceeding the combined totals of all other female sports. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/magazine/cheerleading-jeff-webb.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/magazine/cheerleading-jef...
- jimjimjim 2y agoInteresting article. I hadn't considered the injury aspect.
- HuwFulcher 2y agoThis is a big problem in the UK I think. The idea of having a regular checkup with a doctor is unheard of and will get you some weird looks if you ask for it. The NHS doesn't seem (as an outsider looking in) to do well with preventative care. I firmly believe (without necessarily a lot of evidence) that if we focused more on healthy lifestyles and made them more cost effective for people the amount of money we plough into the NHS every year could be reduced drastically.
- warner25 2y agoTabata et al.[1] found in the mid-1990s that just 2-4 minutes of "high-intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy supplying systems significantly." This was popularized as "Tabata training" 20+ years ago. I generally believe that brief bouts of exercise can be very beneficial, especially because they're easier to do consistently over the long-term vs. more time-consuming routines. For a decade now, I've just been running through my neighborhood most days for 20-30 minutes (with some sprints mixed in) and doing one or two maximal sets of pushups or pullups or barbell exercises at home on a weekly basis. I know a lot of people who got really into longer (e.g. 60-90 minute) gym routines but couldn't sustain it for more than a few months, and then stopped doing anything. [1] https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/1996/10000/Effects_of_moderate_intensity_endurance_and.18.aspx https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Fulltext/1996/10000/Effec...
- pawelduda 2y agosystem > goals
- el_benhameen 2y agoYep. I hated running when I made it an option. The mental struggle around whether to run today took up many brain cycles. Now, I run weekday mornings. Tired? Go run. Don’t feel great? Go run. Busy day ahead? Go run. Read an article about the optimal workout routine in mice aged 25-35? Go run. Routine sucks until it works, and then it’s great.
- iamthemonster 2y agoI don't know if it works for everyone, but for me I tell myself "you HAVE to go for a 1 minute run, then just see how you feel" and every time I just end up doing a decent run anyway.
- aed 2y agoYes! I do something similar. I tell people I don’t have a running habit. I have a getting out the door in the morning with my running shoes on habit. Whatever happens after that is a bonus. The goal is to just step outside in the morning ready for a run.
- ibzsy 2y agoExercise has changed my life for the better. I'm not a fit-geek but 20 minutes of light running really helps me clear my head
- n0id34 2y agoGASP, exercise is good!? No way. The hard part is finding time and having the motivation. Particularly the latter. There's constantly about 49 other things that feel like they need doing more than purposely exercising and wearing myself out even more than I'm already worn out.
- TuringTourist 2y agopossibly counter to intuition, I find that since I have started to religiously use my stationary bike in the morning, I have a lot more energy for the day, not less. I suppose if you're butting up against caloric/nutrient limits you might suffer. I personally find exercise clarifies my thoughts and improves my mood, even if its the last thing I want to do when I do it.
- deberon 2y agoThe mind-body connection is quite real. Improving your physical state will almost certainly have a non-zero improvement on your mental state. Exercising can really help you make sense of all those other things you have going on. Not to mention that being in shape and strong makes every physical thing you do easier.
- hombre_fatal 2y agoFigure out how to get entertainment in the form of audio, like Youtube debates or audiobooks, so then exercise is simply multitasking.
- taeric 2y agoThis could get far more mileage with people by saying "activity" instead of "exercise." It is amazing how much people can get out of a simple walk around the house. Make it out and around the neighborhood, and you start getting absurdly good results.
- artursapek 2y agoIs this really a high bar these days?
- taeric 2y agoUh, yeah? Note that I'm not claiming people don't do any walking at all. But a lot of people that would easily do another walk around the house before settling down to watch TV will balk at exercise.
- petercooper 2y agoAgreed. I've always struggled with intense structured exercise. Instead I walk quickly, park at the far end of lots, run up the stairs instead of the elevator, do some jumping jacks while waiting for the microwave, and lots of small things like that and it seems to work. You can get a lot of exercise minutes and increased heart rate out of doing routine activities with gusto. Admittedly, it's not so good for building muscle, though.
- taeric 2y agoYou only need a 20ish pound set of weights to build muscle, oddly. Don't even have to spend a ton of time on it. Can do a basic set of curls/whatever while cooking breakfast. Body weight exercises feel like they should be even easier to do, but realistically are a lot harder. Pushups, are free and can be done anywhere, sure; but are not a place to start at.
- brailsafe 2y ago> You only need a 20ish pound set of weights to build muscle, oddly. Don't even have to spend a ton of time on it. Can do a basic set of curls/whatever while cooking breakfast. Eh, you can do almost anything with anything at a sufficient intensity frequently enough that you'll build muscle, and you definitely should, but I just feel like the more important thing is to find a good feedback cycle. Everyone is a little different, some people end up liking calisthenics or climbing or hiking or a combination of them, some people like the gym or free weights at home, but you gotta engage with it enough to have a serious possibility of either feeling results or other rewards, or lack thereof enough to move onto another idea. If you don't see or feel results at the gym in the first month, if you set yourself up right you might meet someone to chat with and that may help spur you to keep going regardless. If you don't feel results hiking after your first time, you've at least had an outdoor adventure. You may still have no motivation, try the other idea, go swimming whatever, but there are at least some other qualities present that help reinforce the desire to do the activity. Eventually, you might find that your new default mode of operation in every other facet of life becomes activity first rather than something to fit in just during breakfast. At that point, it's harder to not work out or get activity than the reverse. 3 days go by and it feels odd that you've not done anything demanding in a while, and although it takes effort, it becomes easy enough to maintain long term after a certain threshold. I'm using "you" in the general sense here, and otherwise agree with you, I just think the easiest and most private activities tend to reduce your surface area for discovering other ancillary benefits.
- fouc 2y agoFYI, the absolute fastest way to lower blood pressure is to lose weight if you are obese. Rule of thumb is that your systolic blood pressure will drop by 1 mmHg per 1 lb of weight loss, eventually slowing down to 1 mmHg per 2 lbs of weight loss as you get back down to more normal blood pressure range / weight range. Source: went from 160/110 to 120/90 in several months by dropping 60 lbs.
- ipnon 2y agoI love hearing stories like this, well done.
- kbelder 2y agoI've had similar results with blood pressure, although a smaller weight loss (about 30 lbs) and smaller decrease. Another 10-20 pounds to go. For what it's worth, I'm on a intermittent fast. I only eat between 5pm to 10pm, with no real restrictions on what I eat. I was surprised how quickly weight fell away, and how easy a diet it was to stick to. 'Eat after work' was a simple behavior to adapt to. People are very individual, and this might not work for a lot of people, but it's doing great for me. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life on blood-pressure drugs.
- renegade-otter 2y agoIsn't that an extreme version of IF? I think the usual window is 8 hours, so people should first try eating between lunch and dinner, say 12PM-8PM. A lot of people eat breakfast out of habit, and I found that once I got older, I just stopped needing it. It made me bloated and sluggish. You just don't need that many calories per day when you stop growing or not working in construction.
- fouc 2y agoIF typically starts at 16/8 but 20/4 or 23/1 (One meal a day) variations seem pretty common too. A 5 hour window is not bad because that still gives room to get in 2 meals.
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- cutler 2y agoFor anyone over 60 I recommend 3 sets of full squats before bed for a good night's sleep and strength for hill walking and climbing stairs.
- clort 2y agoI'm not over 60, yet, and I feel there are likely many, myself included, who don't know what a "set of full squats" is, exactly.. when you recommend such things could you at least say what that is thanks?
- reportgunner 2y agoA "set" probably refers to 5 or more repetitions per set, so 3 sets are 3*5+ repetitions of squats. A "full" squat probably means to go so low that your butt goes below your knees.
- ninalanyon 2y agoHow does 3 sets of 5 differ from 15?
- acuozzo 2y agoWithout taking a break, you can lift a heavier weight 5 times than you can 15 times.
- cutler 2y agoSorry. For me a set is just going to your limit. A full squat is where your butt touches your ankles but don't "bounce" - pause momentarily before you come back up.
- fsckboy 2y agothe research metric I'm interested in is "if you exercise for 5 minutes, you should expect to live 1 minute longer" and I would look at that and say "so I lost 4 mins? no thanks" but if it ever comes out with a surplus, I'll turn on a dime (and turning on a dime for 5 minutes a day probably lowers blood pressure)
- comrh 2y agoYou need to consider quality of life too. Maybe you only gain one minute, but you'll age much better with a habit of exercise and stretching.
- fsckboy 2y agoyour point gets made over and over and over, I get it, health nuts have a list of things that they think are healthy. My point, that there's a cost to all this that might not get repaid, is a fresh take that you never see unless you've read one of my other comments making the point.
- guerrilla 2y ago> that might not get repaid This is the part that we know is false. The benefits outweight the costs. But fine, suffer if you want.
- kevmo314 2y agoThis research exists. This study [1] suggests a 2.7 year increase in life expectancy. Doing some math, 5 minutes per day for 80 years is around 0.2 years. So sure I might have gone fishing a bit to respond to a random HN comment but the data is out there and you have a brain. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9794712/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9794712/
- strken 2y agoI really don't think "walk briskly for five minutes a day" is a health nut thing. That sounds more like the advice your doctor gives you when she knows you won't do anything a health nut says.
- brinton2 2y ago[dead]
- black_13 2y ago[dead]
- agumonkey 2y agoNHS cardiac rehab videos on YouTube are quite good too. More like 20 min though.
- lm28469 2y agoAt that point if you don't walk 10k+ steps a day nor lift weight every other day you can't say you care about your long term health.
- lambdaba 2y agoMagnesium will lower your blood pressure, just take magnesium. The crazy thing is the diuretics that are prescribed to lower blood pressure cause magnesium deficiency.
- antics9 2y agoI have a neighbour who's in his 60s. Blood pressure was of the charts while in his 40s. The guy was cycling to work everyday (and thought that was enough exercise) and was living a stressful family and work life. Doctor never prescribed any drugs but told him that he had to start exercising. Signed up for judo class. He couldn't believe the amount of exercise he got from the warm up alone. Been doing judo 3 days a week for 20 years now. Haven't had any heart or blood pressure issues since.
- randunel 2y agoAnd here I was, thinking my daily cycling would be enough. It's not. I've been cycling all of my life, cycling daily and I'm still categorised as obese according to all weight to height ratios. My long term avg blood pressure varies with weight. It's lower when I lose weight, higher when I gain weight. I guess generalising health advice isn't necessarily useful. Health advice should be tailored to individuals, instead.
- da-x 2y agoThere's no way around getting having the nutrition part figured out too, meaning you need to stop eating like crazy. Saying this from a personal account, where I went down from 20% body fat to 13% in just 3 months and saw various health metrics improving.
- godshatter 2y agoMy take on exercise is that our bodies are really good at efficiency. Cycle daily for the same general distance and effort and eventually you are completely attuned to doing that, meaning what used to take a lot of effort now simply doesn't. Maybe increasing intensity or distance or just starting something new along with it would help.
- havblue 2y agoIt sounds like diet might have worked in this case.
- aaron695 2y ago[dead]
- amai 2y agoSee also https://www.examine.com/conditions/high-blood-pressure https://www.examine.com/conditions/high-blood-pressure
- amai 2y agoI thought blood pressure is at first order an effect caused by too much sodium.
- amadeuspagel 2y agoBut my blood pressure is already too low, though I barely exercise.
- SirMaster 2y agoOr just exercise a more normal amount. My anecdote is that my BP was typically around 135/90. I started exercising regularly and now it's usually around 115/75.