Adding small amounts of exercise into daily routine, such as climbing stairs or cycling errands, could help to reduce blood pressure, with just five additional minutes a day estimated to yield improvements, finds a new study from researchers at University College London and the University of Sydney.

The study, supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in Circulation, analysed health data from 14,761 volunteers who wore activity trackers to explore the relationship between daily movement and blood pressure.