Exercise
Take more exercise
Regular physical activity helps to lower blood pressure, creates a healthy balance of blood fats and improves your body’s ability to handle insulin. Here are some tips to get you started.
Pick an activity you enjoy
Choose things like walking, dancing, swimming, cycling, tennis or golf. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it makes you feel warm and slightly out of breath. Gardening and housework are also good exercise.
Don’t overdo it
Take it slowly at first, especially if you’re not used to physical activity. Build up gradually to 30 minutes a day.
Just 30 minutes of activity five days a week is enough to reduce your risk of stroke. You don’t have to do it all in one go – it is just as effective to exercise a few times a day in 10-, 15- or 20- minute sessions.
Warm up and cool down
To prevent muscle cramp and stiffness, start with a few minutes’ warm-up (gentle stretching exercises) and slow down gradually (again with stretches) at the end to let your heart rate return to normal.
Get an exercise partner
Exercising with a friend makes it more fun and helps keep up your motivation if your enthusiasm begins to flag.
Vary your routine
Try different activities from time to time to exercise different muscles – and keep your mind alert.
Be more active during the day
Find ways of building more exercise into your daily routine. For example:
- take the stairs, not the lift
- walk to the shops rather than drive
- get off the bus before your usual stop and walk part of the way.
If you feel dizzy, have pain (especially in your chest) or have difficulty breathing, stop exercising immediately and tell your doctor.
Links
Why a stroke happens
Smoking
Drinking alcohol
Healthy eating
Steps to reduce your risk
What you can't change
Stopping stroke happening again
