Poetry Books

How Reading Poetry Books Could Help Lower Your Blood Pressure

Reading poetic text especially if reading it out loud helps you breathe better making your breathing more regulated. If your breathing is under control your heart rate becomes normal and your relaxation mechanism in your brain takes effect. Immediately you feel more relaxed.

Research published by Scientific American shown results that reading rhythmic poetry especially if out loud slowed a person’s breathing rate to around six breaths per minute by activating the body’s baroreflex response which regulates and stabilises blood pressure. Slower breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” mode) and dampens a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” stress response according to the Poetry Society.

William Sieghart wrote in The Poetry Remedy that the physical structure of verse, specifically meter and rhythm, can have a measurable and positive impact on cardiovascular health.

Poetry has a calming effect as the verses are generally short and the words bring us vivid and relaxing images and bring feelings of calmness in our minds. 

Stress is a huge factor in raising blood pressure which is considered to be raised when consistently over 140/90mmhG, according the National Health Service, along with lifestyle habits. Reading in general helps us relax but that can be enhanced with certain genres of books. The beautiful words of verse in poetry take our minds off our everyday lives which may cause us stress.

In Psychosomatic Medicine studies showed that engaging with poetry can reduce stress, improve cognitive function, enhance emotional well-being, and even aid in healing physically. This medical journal was established in 1939 has is holistic journal focussing on interdisciplinary research linking mind and body and published by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Often if we read other books a chapter at a time, we often rush through a chapter for various reasons such as there’s a knock on the door, the phone is ringing or we need a toilet break. This frustration can give us an adrenaline rush can raise our blood pressure. With very short chapters of verses, we can put the poetry book down at any time and go back to that particular verse when we are ready without having to go over a full chapter as we may have forgot what that chapter was about. Reading poetry out loud has the benefit of helping to breath slower thus bringing blood pressure down faster than reading it quietly. The rhythm of poetic verse helps calm our nervous system by stimulation the parasympathetic part which makes us feel calmer. When your nervous system is calm, cortisol levels are too and blood pressure lowers. If cortisol levels are high for long periods of time arteries can narrow leading to raised blood pressure according to the Cleveland Clinic Organisation.

Other factors that can raise blood pressure is physical activity. Rushing about or a physical workout which usually gets us all hot and bothered. Drinking too much caffeine also raises blood pressure.

Some people tend to recognise when their blood pressure is about to spike as they may get a headache, feel light-headed, a racing heart or blurred vision according to the NHS website. By sitting down and reading poetry can make you feel more relaxed and ease these symptoms thus preventing a spike in blood pressure. So too can eating lots of salty food, smoking and drinking. Medication such as painkillers and cough and cold medicines. Whatever gets your blood boiling, poetry books can help you lower it. Studies show that poetry books do more than that as per The University of Exeter’s study in 2013. They discovered that reading poetry can improve the function of the brain by stimulating and activating the parts that control our memory, imagination and reflection.

Reading poetry books should complement your blood pressure medication, if any, and not replace it. Think of it as more holistic than medicinal.