Smaller exercise sessions help control BP

A series of short physical activities might be more effective in controlling blood pressure than a single long activity in people who are at risk of developing hypertension. Prehypertension occurs when a person's blood pressure is above normal but does not meet the definition of hypertension. For these individuals, 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise on most days of the week is the only currently recommended treatment. Researchers from the Indiana University in Bloomington found that after four 10-minute sessions on a treadmill, spaced an hour apart, people's blood pressures were reduced for three to four hours longer than after a single 40-minute treadmill workout. Results of the present study indicate that as few as four 10-minute walking sessions per day is effective in reducing blood pressure in prehypertension. To compare the effectiveness of several smaller exercise sessions or a single longer workout, the researchers had 20 people perform the four shorter exercise sessions and then, a week later, a single longer one, or vice versa. After the single, longer workout, participants' systolic and diastolic blood pressures were reduced for seven hours. But after the series of shorter sessions, systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) stayed low for 11 hours, and diastolic pressure remained low for 10 hours. The findings suggest that shorter workouts compared to the single longer workout may have done better job of restoring the balance of the nerves that control how blood pressure responds to daily demands.