However, some daily habits such as sitting too long, sleeping irregularly, eating salty food, often staying up late or sleeping too much at noon can also make blood pressure control more difficult.
Sitting a long time, little exercise
After a working day, many people have a habit of sitting for hours in front of computers, watching TV or using phones. Sedentary lifestyle is not only related to weight gain but also affects cardiovascular health.
Just adding about 5 minutes of exercise each day, such as walking uphill or climbing stairs, can also help lower blood pressure. The study analyzed data from 14,761 people and showed that replacing sedentary time with physical activity can bring significant benefits to blood pressure.
Therefore, instead of sitting continuously for many hours, each person can stand up, walk, stretch, or do light exercises during short breaks.
Eating salty but not realizing it
Salt often appears in familiar dishes such as dipping sauces, processed foods, instant noodles, processed meat, pickled vegetables or street foods. The problem is that many people only pay attention to the amount of salt added directly to food and ignore the amount of sodium already present in food.
A high-salt diet is associated with the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. A study reported by Xinhua in 2026 also recorded that high sodium levels are associated with a faster rate of memory decline in men.
Reducing saltiness in meals, limiting processed foods, and reading nutrition labels are simple ways to control sodium intake.
Irregular sleep, staying up late
A late night's sleep may not cause blood pressure to increase significantly immediately, but if it becomes a habit, irregular daily routine can affect cardiovascular health.
People with severe sleep apnea between nights are at higher risk of serious cardiovascular events. Frequent snoring is also found to be associated with high blood pressure and uncontrollable hypertension.
In particular, people who often snore loudly, do not sleep deeply, have periods of apnea when sleeping or are very sleepy during the day should not see it simply as a sleep habit.
Sleeping too much at noon
Taking a nap is often seen as a way to restore energy, but sleeping too often or for too long is not always beneficial.
People who regularly take naps are at higher risk of high blood pressure and ischemic stroke than the group who do not take naps. However, the researchers also emphasized that this link needs to be further studied to clarify the mechanism.
Therefore, instead of prolonged afternoon naps, people should prioritize full night sleep and maintain a stable sleep schedule.
Irregular eating, weight gain
The habit of skipping meals, eating late at night, and frequently using fast food, high in grease, salt, and sugar can contribute to weight gain. When weight increases, the risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases also increases.
Weight management is a long process, requiring a balanced diet, reducing salt, oil and sugar, limiting late eating, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. Experts also note that obesity is associated with many chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
Stable blood pressure does not only depend on medication. For people who have been diagnosed with hypertension, using medication as prescribed and monitoring blood pressure regularly is still the foundation. In addition, changing seemingly small habits in eating, exercising and sleeping can make an important contribution to long-term blood pressure control.
If blood pressure is frequently high or fluctuates abnormally, patients should see a doctor instead of arbitrarily increasing, decreasing or stopping medication.
