Optimal breathing habits can lower blood pressure. Breathing exercises are not only useful for meditation purposes, but also as effective tools for the management of hypertension. Shallow breathing is one of the causes that increase blood pressure, which affects some of the mechanisms that regulate blood flow and heart beat. A study published in the August 2005 issue of "Hypertension," a publication by the American Heart Association, shows that slow breathing improves arterial baroreflex and decreases blood pressure. Further, incorrect breathing patterns decrease the amount of oxygen and nutrient delivery to the heart, which ultimately affects heart function and overall heart health.
Step 1
Perform an initial test of your breathing patterns. Place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on your abdomen. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Notice how much your right and left hands rise. For optimal breathing, the left hand rises higher than the right. If the right hand rises higher, try again, expanding the abdomen on the inhale. Breathing through the abdomen allows the diaphragm to pull more air into the lower lungs, where more gas exchange occurs.
Step 2
Practice expanding the abdomen for about 20 breaths. Take more time and more breaths if needed to achieve the ideal technique.
Step 3
Inhale again through the nose and hold for five seconds. Inhale air into the abdomen and release an exhale through the mouth. If five seconds is too long to hold, then hold as long as comfortable.
Step 4
Exhale through the mouth for a count of six seconds, or one second longer than the inhale count. Deep respiration requires the exhale to exceed the inhale count.
Step 5
Repeat the inhale and exhale cycle five times. Inhale for five seconds and exhale for six seconds. Aim for six breaths each minute.
Step 6
For the next fifteen minutes, breathe naturally. Notice if the chest rises higher than the abdomen when breathing normally. If so, correct the breathing pattern and concentrate on abdominal expansion.
Step 7
Practice the breathing exercises for at least 15 minutes a day, in order to lower blood pressure and sustain the benefits. Dr. Dave Hnida of Cornell University says that deep breathing for 15 minutes a day can lower blood pressure about five points, but he points out, "Your goal is about 10 breathes a minute to get the benefit." The average person takes 15 to 20 breaths per minute. Over time, breathing exercises improve respiratory function and reduce the average number of natural breaths taken per minute. To obtain the recommended goal of averaging ten breaths per minute, daily practice is necessary.
Step 8
Monitor progress periodically by placing your hands on the abdomen and chest. The breathing exercises do not require the hand placement on the chest or abdomen once you begin mastering the exercises. Shallow breathing occurs temporarily and instantaneously by the body's stress response, but also accumulates over time. Correct your breathing patterns to optimal form, if needed.
Tips and Warnings
- Breathing exercises aim for a goal of about six breaths per minute-where a breath equals one inhale and one exhale. The goal for natural breaths, taken outside of the 15-minute window used for the exercises, is about 10 breaths per minute. Practice positive thinking for more benefit. On an inhale, think of feelings or thoughts you want to have, while as you exhale, release the feelings or thoughts you do not want to have. Listen to music, to encourage more relaxation when practicing the breathing techniques.
- Breathing exercises help in reducing blood pressure, but do not eliminate the condition hypertension. Do not stop taking blood pressure medication unless you talk to your doctor first.
