Blood pressure is like a health meter for your heart. Just as you check the pressure in car tires to make sure they’re safe, doctors check your blood pressure to see how well your heart and blood vessels are working.
When the pressure gets too high—a condition called hypertension—it can quietly damage your body. Over time, it can lead to vision loss, strokes, or heart attacks.
Doctors take high blood pressure seriously. They often recommend a healthier diet and more exercise. If that’s not enough, they prescribe medication.
But now, scientists have found a surprising new way to help lower blood pressure—by simply training your lungs with a small device. This new method is called resistance-breathing training.
So, what is resistance-breathing training? It might sound complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple. It involves using a device called POWERbreathe, which gives your lungs a little extra resistance as you breathe in and out.
Think of it as a workout for your breathing muscles—just like lifting weights strengthens your arms, this device strengthens the muscles that help you breathe.
POWERbreathe isn’t new. Athletes, singers, and people with breathing problems have been using it for years. But now, researchers believe it could help anyone, including people who can’t easily exercise due to age or health conditions.
To test this idea, researchers from the University of Colorado, the University of Arizona, and Alma College asked healthy volunteers to use the POWERbreathe device every day for six weeks. In each session, the volunteers took 30 deep breaths through the device—similar to blowing up a balloon 30 times.
Before and after the six-week training, the researchers measured the volunteers’ blood pressure. The results were impressive: on average, their blood pressure dropped by 9 mmHg. That’s a big improvement—similar to what you might see if you started a new medication or took up regular exercise like walking or biking.
This is exciting because it shows that breathing training could be a helpful tool in managing blood pressure—especially for people who find it hard to be physically active. It’s simple, easy to use at home, and doesn’t take much time.
But while resistance-breathing training is promising, it shouldn’t replace other important habits. Eating healthy, staying active, reducing stress, and following your doctor’s advice are still key to keeping your heart healthy.
So, if you’re looking for a new way to help control your blood pressure—or if you struggle to exercise—talk to your doctor about whether a tool like POWERbreathe might be right for you. Sometimes, something as simple as breathing can help you live a longer, healthier life.
This study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more health information, please see recent studies about added sugar in your diet linked to higher blood pressure, and results showing vitamin D could improve blood pressure in people with diabetes.
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