Despite what you may have heard, prescription medications are not necessary in order to lower blood pressure naturally. There are dozens, if not hundreds of little things you can do to improve your cardiovascular health and improve your overall physical fitness.

Medications artificially force your body’s blood pressure to drop, and frequently come along with a number of side effects that range anywhere between making you uncomfortable to being dangerous for your health.

Here are 5 simple tips you can use to lower blood pressure naturally, all without medication.

Lose Weight

The correlation between obesity and blood pressure has long been documented. Losing even a moderate amount of weight is almost always accompanied by a corresponding drop in blood pressure.

Work with your doctor to determine just how much weight you need to lose in order to see the most benefit, especially if you are extremely obese or have any other medical considerations that need to be taken into account.

Exercise

This goes hand in hand with losing weight, and is one of the best methods of doing so. Regular cardiovascular exercise will strengthen your heart, improve blood flow, and enhance overall cardiovascular health.

Aim for at least 30 minutes just about every day. Start with something simple like walking to get into the routine, then work your way up to more intense routines such as biking or running.

Again, consult your doctor if you have any serious medical conditions that need to be tended to.

Drink Water

Recent research has indicated that chronic hypertension may be the result of severe dehydration, and that increasing water intake may be of benefit to people who are suffering from it.

This is caused by the body constricting blood vessels in an effort to hold on to as much water as possible. To combat this dehydration, try to drink at least 64 oz of water per day to lower blood pressure naturally. Do not substitute coffee or soda pop for water in this case.

Stop Smoking

If all the other long term dangers of smoking were not bad enough, the chemicals contained in tobacco products will raise your blood pressure for a prolonged period after using them. This is due to a number of factors, including damage to arteries, fluid retention, and interference with the body’s natural systems.

For this reason and many others, it is best to stop smoking and using other tobacco products immediately. Also, avoid secondhand smoke whenever possible.

Reduce Your Stress Level

Though the exact mechanism for doing so isn’t known, it has long been known that anxiety and stressful situations result in an increase in blood pressure.

Unfortunately, this one is the most difficult to incorporate because we are not always aware of what exactly causes us stress. The first thing that you will have to do is take a long look at your life and determine what exactly is making you anxious.

Once you have located your stressors, take steps to either deal with them or eliminate them from your life. As you do so, you will steadily see your blood pressure naturally drop.