For many people living with high blood pressure, the notion of having to take blood pressure lowering drugs everyday is not encouraging. That is why, so many people skip their medication, which is an extremely dangerous thing to do.

A recurrent question I see posted in forums, and on blogs is how can I lower my blood pressure naturally? Here are 5 ways by which you can lower your blood pressure naturally. Research has shown over, and over that implementing these strategies as part as your blood pressure lowering regimen will not only lower it, but your overall health will also improve.

1. Switch To The DASH Diet Eating Plan.

Studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health have proven that the DASH diet can lower blood pressure in just 14 days. So what is the DASH Diet?

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It is A well-balanced, easy to understand way of eating that gives you lots of choices. It is a high fiber plan with medium levels of protein, and higher levels of whole carbohydrates.

If you're not used to eating this way, don't overwhelm yourself. Start by making small changes. Increase your consumption of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and low, and non fat dairy products. Switch to leaner meats, and reduce your daily sodium intake

2. Exercise

You do not have to run a marathon, or spend endless hours in a gym to get the blood pressure lowering benefits from exercising.  Research has shown that just 30 minutes of moderate exercise 3 times a week can lower blood pressure significantly.

The good news is that you can break up the 30 minutes throughout the day. How about taking a brisk walk for 15 minutes, then spend another 15 minutes dancing to your favorite music?

My favorite kind of exercise is dancing to salsa music. If you have a music that just stirs you up the way Salsa does to me then, 15 to 30 minutes of dancing will not only be fun, and give a good cardio workout, but it will also release endorphins in your brain giving you a great feeling of well being while lowering your blood pressure.

3. Lose The Weight

By adopting the DASH Diet, and including at least 30 minutes of exercise into your lifestyle, you're bound to lose weight. An article in the American Journal of Hypertension indicates that long-term weight loss brings a sustained reduction in blood pressure.

 

The article goes on to say that even a modest degree of weight loss over the long term is highly beneficial to overweight, and obese patients with high blood pressure. In addition, losing weight might be considered as the first, and sometimes the only treatment necessary for otherwise low-risk overweight subjects with high blood pressure.

4. Decrease The Stress In Your Life

Your blood pressure increases when you are under physical or emotional stress, but stress is so much a part of modern life, that you may feel that it is difficult to control the amount of stress in your life without making a drastic change in your lifestyle.

Many people fool themselves into believing that they're controlling their stress by eating, smoking or drinking alcohol, but these things only mask the problem, and precipitate lots of health problems, including high blood pressure.

There are lots of natural, healthy things you can do to reduce stress, and they don't take a lot of time. Here a just a few:

1. Spend some quiet, undisturbed time every day to de-stress. Turn off the lights, light some candles, burn some calming essential oil such as lavender while listing to your favorite music.

2. Get a pet. There's nothing like spending a few minutes with a purring cat in your lap, or petting your dog. Even people who are allergic to furry pets can get great stress relief from watching colorful fish swimming in an aquarium.

3. Laughter is a great stress buster. Laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, and boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, and produces a general sense of well-being.

I spend at least 30 minutes every day before going to bed watching re-runs of the Fresh Prince Of Bel Air. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, that silly show still makes me laugh like crazy.

5. Control Your Drinking.

Excessive alcohol use can raise your blood pressure to an unhealthy level. Alcoholic drinks are often high in calories, and may contribute to weight gain. Also, alcohol can interfere with the effectiveness of some blood pressure medications, and increase their side effects.

If you drink alcoholic beverages, limit them to two drinks a day. That's equivalent to 2 ounces of 100 proof spirit ( whiskey, tequila, vodka..etc), 10 ounces of wine, or 2 12 ounces cans of beer.