Five minutes of this breathing exercise is as or more effective for cardiovascular health than aerobic exercise

Five minutes of this breathing exercise is as or more effective for cardiovascular health than aerobic exercise

Developed in the 1980s as a way to help critically ill respiratory disease patients strengthen their diaphragm and other respiratory muscles, Inspiratory Musculature Strength Training (IMST) involves inhaling vigorously through a manual device that provides resistance .

Exercising for just five minutes a day via IMST lowers blood pressure and improves some measures of vascular health, as well as, or even more than, aerobic exercise or medication , new research from CU Boulder published in the Journal of the American Heart Association .

30 puffs per day

Just 30 high-resistance puffs per day , six days a week, could lead to improvements in cardiovascular, cognitive and athletic performance.

For the new study, 36 adults aged 50 to 79 years with above-normal systolic blood pressure were recruited. Half did heavy-duty IMST for six weeks; and half did a placebo protocol, in which resistance was much lower. The participants did not know which group they were in .

When assessed after six weeks, the IMST group saw their systolic blood pressure (the top number) drop nine points on average, a reduction that generally exceeds that achieved by walking 30 minutes a day five days a week . That decrease is also equal to the effects of some blood pressure-lowering drug regimens.

The treatment group also saw a 45% improvement in vascular endothelial function , or the ability of the arteries to expand upon stimulation, and a significant increase in levels of nitric oxide, a key molecule in dilating arteries and preventing artery disease. plaque buildup. Nitric oxide levels naturally decline with age.