High blood pressure rarely causes symptoms, which is why it is called a silent condition. Left untreated, it raises the risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. It is also extremely common.
Stress pushes blood pressure up in the short term, so it is natural to ask whether a relaxation method such as hypnosis could bring it down.
Be clear on one thing first
High blood pressure is treated with lifestyle changes and, where needed, medication. Both are proven to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Hypnosis is not. Do not stop or reduce blood pressure medication without your doctor’s agreement, however calm you feel.
The trial
In a French study published in 2007, thirty people with mild essential hypertension were randomly assigned to one of two groups:
- Hypnosis: a standardised programme of eight individual sessions
- Control: no treatment
Blood pressure was measured at the end of treatment and followed for a year.
The author reported that hypnosis was effective in reducing blood pressure in the short term, and also in the middle and long term.
Two other findings are worth noting. There was no relationship between how much participants practised self-hypnosis and how their blood pressure changed. And anxiety and personality factors did not predict who benefited.
How much weight can it bear?
Some, but not a great deal.
- Thirty people is a small study.
- The control group had no treatment, so the comparison does not separate hypnosis from attention, expectation, or simply having eight calm appointments.
- It has not been confirmed by large trials.
- It concerned mild hypertension only.
Blood pressure is also a slippery thing to measure. It varies through the day and falls as people get used to having it taken.
The wider picture
Research on relaxation methods in general gives a mixed answer.
- A meta-analysis of autogenic training found benefits for mild to moderate high blood pressure.
- Reviews of relaxation therapies as a group have tended to find small average effects that weaken in better-designed trials.
- Guidelines do not recommend relaxation as a treatment for hypertension, though stress management is encouraged as part of general wellbeing.
A fair reading is that relaxation may lower blood pressure a little in some people, and should be seen as an addition to proven measures.
Why it might help
- Less activation of the stress response, which narrows blood vessels and speeds the heart.
- Slower breathing. Slow, paced breathing is known to lower blood pressure in the short term.
- Better sleep. Poor sleep raises blood pressure.
- Help with habits. Hypnosis may support changes in eating, drinking, activity and smoking, which have far bigger effects.
That last route may matter most.
What is proven to lower blood pressure
- Less salt
- More fruit and vegetables, and a diet in the DASH pattern
- Regular physical activity
- Losing weight if overweight
- Less alcohol
- Not smoking (for overall heart risk)
- Medication when lifestyle changes are not enough
Each of these has good trial evidence, and several have larger effects than any relaxation technique.
A daily routine
If you would like to add relaxation, this is safe alongside your treatment.
- Sit comfortably with your back supported.
- Breathe slowly: about six breaths a minute, in for four, out for six.
- Let your body soften from head to toe.
- Imagine your blood vessels as wide, flexible tubes with blood flowing easily.
- Imagine warmth spreading into your hands and feet.
- Tell yourself: “My body is at ease. My heart beats calmly and steadily.”
- Stay for ten to fifteen minutes.
- Count from one to five and stand up slowly.
Do it daily. Take your blood pressure at the same time each day if you monitor it at home, and share the readings with your doctor.
Cautions
- Stand up slowly after deep relaxation, especially if you take blood pressure medication. You may feel light-headed.
- Keep taking your medication. If readings fall, your doctor can adjust the dose.
- Have your blood pressure checked regularly.
- Seek urgent help for chest pain, severe headache, sudden weakness, confusion, or trouble speaking or seeing.
White-coat hypertension
Some people’s blood pressure shoots up only in the clinic, from nerves. The breathing part of this routine, done for five minutes in the waiting room, can help give a truer reading. Home or ambulatory monitoring is the proper way to sort this out.
The bottom line
One small trial suggests hypnosis may lower mild high blood pressure, and relaxation in general probably helps a little. It is a pleasant addition to the things that are proven to work, not a replacement for them.
Next in the series: Hypnosis for Sexual Difficulties: Anxiety, Erections and Painful Sex
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.