Welcoming 2023 with New Goals | January Tidbits from Channel Islands Rehab
Posted on / by magna / in Newsletter

January 2023 Newsletter

7 Days of Inspiration

Take one a day and feel great all week

Day 1 – You don’t have to prove yourself. You are already so special.
Day 2 – Progress. You’ve done so much, and you’ll do so much more!
Day 3 – Believe and achieve!
Day 4 – You make a positive difference just by being you!
Day 5 – Sometimes, all a dream is waiting for is your decision to live it
Day 6 – You are someone to look up to
Day 7 – Yesterday has led you to a place where wonderful things can happen: Today!

Woman’s World – January 2023

Smiling woman taking a deep breath

Take a Deep Breath for Your Health

Mental Health know how: Focused Breathing Promotes Health. Helps with calming the mind and reducing blood pressure.

According to new research, as little as five to 10 minutes of breathing exercises a day could reduce your blood pressure as much as medication, losing weight, or eliminating salt from your diet. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Arizona found that high resistance inspiratory muscle strength training IMST, described as “strength training for your breathing muscles”, helps lower blood pressure and improve heart health for people of all ages and lifestyles. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Researchers conducted tests on 128 healthy adults ages 18 to 82, who performed breathing exercises for six weeks for about 5 to 10 minutes per day, taking 30 deep breath‘s as an inhaler-like device provided resistance akin to sucking through a tube that sucks back.

Within two weeks, researchers observed improvements in participants blood pressure. By the end of the trial, they saw an average reduction of 9mmHg in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a 4mmHg drop in diastolic (the bottom number). Studies have found that lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 10 and 5mmHg, respectively, reduces cardiovascular risk at 65 years of age by 25% and strokes by 35%. Furthermore, when participants tried the training for six weeks, stopped for six weeks, and then retested their blood pressure remained almost as low as right after the training.

The results are comparable to the effects of some blood pressure lowering medication‘s and exceeds the benefits of aerobic exercise, dietary sodium restriction, and weight loss, the researchers note. “People can expect fairly rapid results“, Daniel Craighead, lead author of the study and assistant research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder told digital news outlet Insider “we would expect that if you went longer, blood pressure would go down even more“. He added: “what’s really exciting about this is that it’s helpful for a wide range of adults. People with blood pressure at an unhealthy level could stand to benefit from adding this to their routine now. But someone could start in their 30s and stick to it for years to help delay or prevent hypertension.“ Researchers caution that IMST is not meant to replace exercise, a healthy diet, or medication. Rather it could be a good additive intervention for those who struggle with high blood pressure despite lifestyle changes and medications.

Mind Health Report – January 2023