Healthy habits and exercise that require little-to-no movement are always intriguing to me and that's why this caught my attention...
A recent study found that if you want to lower your blood pressure, going on walks is a good way to do it. However, staying home and just stretching might be even better.
A team at the University of Saskatchewan tracked 40 men with high blood pressure. Half of them had to go for a brisk, 30-minute walk five times a week. The other half stayed home and they stretched for 30 minutes. After two months, the ones who stretched five times a week lowered their blood pressure more than the ones who walked!
They think it's because when you stretch your muscles, you're also stretching out all the blood vessels that lead into those muscles, including your arteries.
This part's important though: The people in the study who walked five times a week lost more belly fat and stretching won't lower cholesterol, like walking or running does.
So, you should really do both. Try to walk, run, or get moving more often. But, if you also stretch before and after, you're helping your body even more.