3. Too Little (and Poor Quality) Sleep
When you’re asleep, your blood pressure drops by about 10 percent, giving your cardiovascular system a break. If your sleep is disrupted, this dip in blood pressure doesn’t happen, raising your risk of high blood pressure.
To maintain good sleep hygiene, Minhas suggests trying to go to bed around the same time every night and avoiding caffeine and alcohol during the four to six hours before bed. Do a few wind-down strategies, too, like doing some meditation or listening to relaxing music.
“It can be trial and error,” she adds. “Try different things and see if you feel better rested and if your blood pressure changes,” she adds.
Sleep apnea, a disorder that causes people to stop breathing temporarily during sleep, can also increase your risk of hypertension by disrupting your sleep even when you’re logging seven to eight hours of shut-eye. As Minhas explains, snoring and needing much more sleep than average are signs that you may have undiagnosed sleep apnea.
For people who don’t have a sleep disorder, getting the right amount of sleep is usually enough to prevent negative effects on your blood pressure. “Most adults, when we talk about optimal cardiovascular health, need somewhere between seven to nine hours of sleep,” says Minhas. “Anything far less than that or far more than that is linked to high blood pressure and worse cardiovascular health stress.”
Not feeling excessively sleepy during the day and being able to keep up with daily activities are good signs that you’re getting good enough sleep, Minhas adds.
4. Too Much Alcohol
After drinking alcohol, blood pressure levels can fall within the first six hours. But later, blood pressure can spike for 20 hours afterward; after a large amount of alcohol, a person’s heart rate also tends to increase.
“Regular heavy alcohol use can raise blood pressure,” says Minhas. This sustained increase in blood pressure comes from a number of factors, including increased stress hormones and structural changes to the blood vessels.
Because of this, it’s best to stick to the recommended limit of one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
5. Licorice
While most foods have little effect on blood pressure, Minhas says, “Black licorice or licorice root is linked to high blood pressure.” This is because glycyrrhizin, the chemical that creates the flavor in black licorice, lowers potassium levels while causing the body to retain sodium, which are both linked with heart problems and high blood pressure.
Experts recommend that those with hypertension pressure avoid licorice, while others should consume it only in limited amounts.
6. Smoking Cigarettes or Vaping
While vaping is often seen as a healthier alternative to cigarettes, both habits can actually have similar effects on your health. For example, smoking or vaping puts the cardiocasular system into a state of fight-or-flight, which includes an acute increase in blood pressure.
In the long term, vaping can also damage blood vessel function by reducing the amount of nitric oxide they produce. Nitric oxide is important for relaxing the blood vessels and improving blood flow. If you currently smoke or vape, talk to your doctor about a cessation strategy.
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