New study shows an increase in your daily step count can do wonders for blood pressure management

A new study released this month in the JMIR looked at the belief that daily walking can do wonders for your cardiovascular health.

The study found that every 1000 increase in the step count was associated with a 0.49 mmHg lower home systolic BP (P=.004) and 0.36 mmHg lower home diastolic BP (P=.003). 

This study examined a group of 660 participants who used an Apple Watch and Bluetooth-enabled home blood pressure cuff to study the association of habitual physical activity with home BP measurements. Participants were instructed to wear the watch daily and transmit BP values weekly.

Walking briskly is known to help with better blood pressure management but also helps you in staying calm and beating anxiety.

Benefits of Daily Walking

Most studies show that a 30-minute brisk walking can do the trick.

You carry your own body weight when you walk. This weight-bearing exercise is known to provide the following major health benefits. increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness

• reduced risk of heart disease and stroke
• improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint, and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes
• stronger bones and improved balance
• increased muscle strength and endurance
• reduced body fat.

Counting Steps using Activity Trackers

Most activity trackers offer step count and calorie tracking today. For example, on the Fitbit, it is a standard measure, and if you are using an Apple Watch for your daily activity, you can use it to track your step counts and display it on your Apple Watch face.

• Complete Guide to the Workout App for your new Apple Watch
• How to see your step count on Apple Watch

If you do not have an activity tracker and use your Android phone, you can leverage the new paced walking feature in Google Fit for brisk walking activity.

This feature works to provide you a metronome-type sound in the background that you can walk to.

• Beyond counting steps. Use Google Fit’s Paced Walking feature to get more out of your walks

Motivating oneself to stay consistent with daily walking habits can be a challenge. However, studies have found that when you walk in small teams or use a team-based challenge to monitor your step counts, it helps prevent a decrease in your number of steps.

To that end, you should take advantage of the community-based features offered by various activity trackers.

On the Apple Watch, you can share activities with your friends and invite them to challenges. Similar features are also available on the Garmin Connect platform if you use an activity tracker for Garmin.

There are third-party platforms that provide community features as well. These include Strava and well as MyFitnessPal.

• Strava’s latest update brings group challenges and Map Segment recommendations
• How to Use Strava with Fitbit

Lastly, if you need some extra motivation with your walking activity, check out the “Time to Walk” feature offering on the Apple Fitness+ platform. The interesting conversations and the music playlist are bound to keep your walking exercise from turning boring.

Home-based Blood pressure monitoring

When it comes to measuring your blood pressure at home, many devices can help you with it and automatically upload it into the Apple Health app.

• 5 Best Blood Pressure Apps For Monitoring and Tracking
• 3 Best Blood Pressure Monitors to Use With Apple’s Health App

The key is to find a Blood pressure device that is proven to be accurate. We looked at the following Blood pressure devices and have reviewed them and found consistent and accurate measurements.

This article is just another reminder to put on your favorite activity tracker and get the most out of the summer evenings.