Research
Adherence
Relaxation therapies do not significantly reduce blood pressure when compared to active controls or usual care, and should not be recommended for this purpose.
Do not rely on relaxation therapies (like yoga, meditation, or biofeedback) to lower your blood pressure. While they may help with stress, studies show they do not significantly lower blood pressure compared to standard care or other active treatments.
GoodRefutesMEDIUM confidence
Relaxation significantly reduced blood pressure only when compared with non-intervention controls. Available evidence does not support relaxation therapies... to reduce blood pressure.
Why this rating
Based on 23 trials, but the effect was not robust against active controls.
Source
Lifestyle interventions to reduce raised blood pressure: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
Heather O Dickinson et al. · Journal of Hypertension · 2006
Meta-analysis · 105 studiesCited 763×
Read the paper This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →