10 Tips To Improve Blood Circulation
When you have poor blood circulation, you may feel weak or lightheaded. If left unaccounted for, it could lead to more serious health problems. When blood goes through the body properly, it can deliver oxygen and other important nutrients to vital organs. The problem though is that not a lot of people know how to get their blood adequately flowing through their veins. If you’re one of these people, read on. We’ll give you a few tips on how to improve your blood circulation.
Get Some Exercise
The first thing you can do to get your blood flowing is getting up and doing some exercise. Aside from improving your circulation, regular workouts also help you regulate your weight, boost your energy, and improve your mood. If you’re not the biggest fan of running and other forms of cardio exercise, don’t worry. Even simple exercises such as walking or busting a move to your favorite song can improve your heart health. Strength training with a couple of dumbbells can also help increase your blood flow.
Stretch A Little
If you simply don’t have the time or energy to get a proper workout in, then you can try to do some stretching instead. Loosening your limbs counteracts the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, which many people are unfortunately practicing these days. Get up every couple of hours, whether it’s from your office chair or your couch, and stretch your legs out. Shaking your limbs and pacing back and forth a little bit is also advisable to get your blood pumping to the places that need it the most.
Do Some Yoga
Similarly, you can sign up for some yoga classes. This form of exercise has gotten extremely popular in the past couple of years since it’s low-impact in nature. This means that even beginners can get the hang of it quite easily. The movements you do in a yoga class help relieve stress on your veins, which allows blood to flow through more freely. If you don’t have the money to join a yoga class, you can look for resources online to follow. Exercising can be even more fun if you bring some friends along, so try that out as well if you can. So get a yoga mat and yoga shorts and start practicing.
Get A Massage
If you want something a bit more relaxing, then you’ll be happy to know that getting an aromatherapy massage can also help improve your circulation. Some sources even go as far to suggest that a thorough massage has the same benefits as a good workout. There are those who benefit from getting massages a couple of times each week; however, this is not wholly necessary. You’ll notice great improvement in your blood flow with just a couple of massages every month.
As an added bonus, use essential oils to reduce your feelings of stress. Speaking of which, reducing the amount of time you spend around your stressors can also be of help in improving your heart health. Take some time to be by yourself or with the people you love, and just relax. As the saying goes, “self-care isn’t selfish.”
Watch Your Diet
By the same token, you should be watching what you eat if you want to improve your blood circulation. Keeping a healthy weight is essential, as being underweight can be as harmful as being overweight, although of course falling under the latter category is more dangerous. Studies have also found that people who maintain a normal body mass index (BMI) produce more adiponectin – a protein which has been linked to improved circulatory health. Losing a couple inches on your waist and dropping a few pounds can really help.
Eat More “Healthy” Fats
If you’re already cutting trans fats and sugar from your diet, you should also look into eating more of the healthy kind of fat. The Omega-3 fatty acid is a prime example of this. This healthy fat can be found in oily fishes such as sardines, tuna, and salmon. If you’re not the biggest fan of fish, you’d be happy to know that you can get your Omega-3 fix from kale as well. If you’re on a specific diet, there are also supplements available that let you get your daily dose of fish oil in one go.
Consume More Iron-Rich Foods
You should also eat more food that’s rich in iron, folate, and other trace minerals. Your grade school science class should have taught you that iron is an important component of blood. In fact, it is the ingredient that is essential for blood being able to deliver oxygen throughout your body. You can get your daily recommended iron intake from eating food such as red meat and dark, leafy greens. Whole grains are rich in iron as well. If you’re not a big eater, many multivitamins these days contain your daily dose of iron.
Drink More Water
It’s not only what you eat that matters when it comes to improving your body’s blood circulation. What you drink plays a big role in this, too. If you want to improve your circulation, try drinking more water. You should forget about drinking eight glasses of water a day. This is old news. Eight glasses of water aren’t nearly enough to cover your daily hydration needs. Nowadays, experts advise people to drink half of their body weight in ounces of water. Remember, drinking cola and coffee doesn’t count toward this total. Only drinking water does.
Switch Out Coffee For Tea
Another thing you can do to improve your cardiovascular health is substituting your morning coffee with a cup of green tea. Not only is this drink rich in antioxidants, it can also help blood flow better through your entire body. The best part is that if you’re trying to lessen your caffeine intake, there are lots of green tea varieties that are caffeine-free. You can see the positive impact of drinking green tea from just a single cup per day. However, to get the full effect of this wonder drink, aim to drink at least two or three cups on daily basis.
Lessen Your Alcohol Intake
It would also be a good idea to reduce your alcohol intake if you want to have better blood circulation. Alcohol consumption in moderate amounts – one or two glasses – is welcome, especially if you’re drinking red wine, which is rich in antioxidants. If you drink more than that amount, your arteries could get clogged. This results in blood not being able to pass through them smoothly. Your heart will have to pump a lot harder to get the blood to the where it needs to be.
Those are just some of the ways you can improve your blood flow. It’s always best to use as many of these techniques as you can instead of choosing just one. This allows you to get the most out of these tips and tricks for improving your circulation.
Sources:
- How to improve circulation, Medical News Today
- 9 Ways to Improve Your Blood Circulation, Vein Clinics of America
- 16 Tips to Improve Blood Circulation Naturally, Tea Mi Blends
