Recent research indicates that incorporating small amounts of physical activity, such as walking uphill or climbing stairs, can help reduce blood pressure.

Research suggests that just five minutes of activity each day could potentially lower blood pressure. Additionally, replacing sedentary behaviour with 20 to 27 minutes of exercise daily—such as uphill walking, stair climbing, running, or cycling—can significantly reduce blood pressure clinically.

Joint senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the ProPASS Consortium at the Charles Perkins Centre, stated, “High blood pressure is one of the most significant health issues globally. Unlike some major causes of cardiovascular mortality, there are potentially accessible methods to address this problem beyond just medication.”

Finding that just five extra minutes of exercise daily can lead to significantly lower blood pressure readings highlights the effectiveness of short, intense bouts of physical activity for managing blood pressure.

Hypertension, or consistently high blood pressure, is one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. It affects 1.28 billion adults and can lead to serious health issues such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney damage. Often referred to as the “silent killer,” hypertension typically presents no symptoms, making it especially dangerous.

The research team analysed health data from 14,761 volunteers in five countries to see how replacing one type of movement behaviour with another across the day is associated with blood pressure.  

Each participant used a wearable accelerometer device on their thigh to measure their activity and blood pressure day and night.  

Daily activity was split into six categories: sleep, sedentary behaviour (such as sitting), slow walking, fast walking, standing, and vigorous exercise such as running, cycling or stair climbing. 

The team statistically modelled what would happen if an individual changed various amounts of one behaviour for another to estimate the effect on blood pressure for each scenario and found that replacing sedentary behaviour with 20-27 minutes of exercise per day could potentially reduce cardiovascular disease by up to 28 per cent at a population level.  

Dr. Jo Blodgett, the lead author from the Division of Surgery and Interventional Science at UCL and the Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Health, stated, “Our findings suggest that for most people, engaging in exercise is more effective for reducing blood pressure than opting for less strenuous forms of movement, like walking.”

“The good news is that whatever your physical ability, it doesn’t take long to have a positive effect on blood pressure. What’s unique about our exercise variable is that it includes all exercise-like activities, from running for a bus or a short cycling errand, many of which can be integrated into daily routines.  

“For those who don’t do a lot of exercise, walking still has some positive benefits for blood pressure. But if you want to change your blood pressure, putting more demand on the cardiovascular system through exercise will have the greatest effect.”