What is the obsession of looking for a cheap way out if you are able bodied. Literally just go for a walk, run, or ride. I highly doubt doing some small activity can really compare to the full health benefits of some daily exercise.
5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
31–40 of 244 posts
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#32Okay, so I have some straight up anecdotal evidence done with a real blood pressure cuff by a trained medical professional for a related phenomenon. I have to get a buprenorphine injection monthly. As a part of this, they take my blood pressure. I was talking to the nurse, animatedly about the silly policies our state government has around electric scooters, as she was taking my blood pressure. She didn't read out bo…
I agree, this is a great trick. I've been using it for almost 20 years and it's kinda funny to use around friends too, if you are playing around with home blood pressure equipment for any reason. Also take off any hats, wear loose-fitting clothing, wear sandals instead of shoes if possible, and uncross your feet if they are crossed.
Also if they are weighing you clothes-on, it's worth some care as well. A lot of doctors offices will happily register that you gained a significant amount of weight without taking into account that you are wearing work boots, jeans, a vest holding your phone, etc. vs. your last appointment in the summer when you were wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Your doctor won't see any of this of course, so it's your word vs the EMR.
And finally, a friend tells me that you should always feel out the doctor first before showing them your full noot stack or other health experiments. ;-)
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#33Okay, so I have some straight up anecdotal evidence done with a real blood pressure cuff by a trained medical professional for a related phenomenon. I have to get a buprenorphine injection monthly. As a part of this, they take my blood pressure. I was talking to the nurse, animatedly about the silly policies our state government has around electric scooters, as she was taking my blood pressure. She didn't read out bo…
If you are going to study effects on blood pressure in your own physiology, I very much recommend getting a home device so you can take a lot of measurements. Blood pressure changes constantly for any reason or (as far as I can tell) no reason.
When I take my own measurements, I take five measurements back to back without moving and see bigger swings that you did. I've seen that using three different home devices. I've seen it in clinical settings being measured by many, many professionals. I remember once seeing a thirty point swing between two measurements taken immediately back to back by a nurse. The sheer amount of downright superstitious behavior I've seen in nurses surrounding blood pressure measurements is pretty incredible, too: lots of retaking measurements until the number is what they expect, repositioning, or trying something random like you did. I find it all very reminiscent of the 2 4 6 Puzzle -- a lot more confirmation and explanation than investigation.
I'm not trying to say this sort of thing is statistically invalid at a population level. On the contrary. I'm pretty convinced in my own case that breathing exercises are worth about ten points. But I strongly recommend developing a healthy respect for the sheer variability of the number before drawing strong conclusions from a low number of measurements.
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#34This is called Pranayam.
We are doing this in India since ages... Good to see that 'experts' from Western countries taking baby steps to learn. Good for you guys!
Keep it up.
Note 1: Some 'expert' took my comment on their ego and downvoted my comment. Guys, my comment was encouraging. Taking it on your ego is your personal choice.
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#35This is interesting, and is a pre-regisetered double blind study; still it was 18 participants in each condition, which is on the low end of what I'd find acceptable.
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#36Of course this should not stop you from exercising where possible. It could be very useful in case of arthritis or similar conditions inhibiting exercise.
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#37I don't fully get the "lowers blood pressure" claim. Doesn't Table S2 in the paper say that blood pressure stayed roughly the same for people doing high-resistance IMST and went up for the control/sham group doing low-resistance IMST? The question in my mind is "why does low-resistance IMST increase blood pressure?" Am I missing something?
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#38This is called Pranayam. We are doing this in India since ages... Good to see that 'experts' from Western countries taking baby steps to learn. Good for you guys! Keep it up. Note 1: Some 'expert' took my comment on their ego and downvoted my comment. Guys, my comment was encouraging. Taking it on your ego is your personal choice.
What else do you believe the west is missing?
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#39>...the IMST group saw their systolic blood pressure (the top number) dip nine points on average, a reduction which generally exceeds that achieved by walking 30 minutes a day five days a week.
Walking isn't very aerobic. I think you would have to walk/jog up a hill for some sort of meaningful comparison.
Re: 5-min breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs (2021)
#40I wonder if you can stack the breathing exercises (9pt reduction) with grip strength exercises (10% reduction) for even more benefit. Edit: People are disagreeing with this? Why?
What grip exercises?