120318 Several shorter workouts per day may help control pre-hypertension

120318 Several shorter workouts per day may help control pre-hypertension

A small study reported in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that several shorter exercise periods spaced four hours apart were more beneficial than doing one long session. The participants in the study walked briskly for ten minutes, three times a day with four hours separating each session.

The next day they walked a continuous thirty minutes. This alternating pattern continued throughout the length of the study as did constant around the clock blood pressures monitoring for each person. The results clearly showed that several shorter ten-minute sessions during the day created lower blood pressure readings and fewer high blood pressure spikes throughout the day.

Earlier research has shown that short accumulative sessions of exercise help to control weight, increase bone mineral density, and assist in lowering both blood pressure and blood sugar levels, along with decreasing the cholesterol levels. However, these are not the only beneficial aspects of exercising, there are others.

Exercise releases endorphins; the chemicals that make you feel good and counteract the negative effects of adrenalines brought on by stress. Endorphins work by relaxing the muscles and help to dilate the vessels in the circulatory system.

Further advantages of exercise result in the production of lower levels of stress hormones released into the body, lower increases in heart rate and blood pressure when under stress.

These non-intrusive, short time exercise periods help you to stay more consistent with your exercise compliance over lengthy periods. This means your health should continue to improve over time.