October’s wellness edit: less effort, more insight

October always feels like a reset. The evenings draw in, routines settle back into place, and there’s a natural pull towards looking after yourself a little better. This month’s news fits that mood well, because most of it isn’t about doing more.

A new UK study shows a few minutes of holding still against a wall can bring down your blood pressure. A global study of more than six million people finally puts numbers on the pain women have been describing for years. The drinks industry is quietly betting that your evening ritual is about to change. Fresh research suggests your pregnancy, however long ago, still has something to tell you about your health. 

Your blood pressure can drop without you moving at all

The most promising workout of the month asks you to hold still. UK researchers published a study on 29 September in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine looking at isometric exercise, where you hold a position such as a squat, a plank or a hand grip rather than moving through it.

They recruited 100 adults with an average age of 37 who weren’t meeting minimum exercise guidelines and had normal to high-normal blood pressure. For four weeks, 80 of them did wall squats three times a week, four holds per session, while the other 20 acted as a control group. Their blood pressure came down. Then came the part that matters for busy lives. Those who cut back to one or two sessions a week kept a significant drop in systolic blood pressure. Those who carried on three times a week saw the biggest fall. Those who stopped altogether were back to their starting point within four weeks.

The authors describe it as a practical option for people with little time or who struggle to stick with exercise. A larger NHS-funded trial, ISOFITTER, is now testing whether wall squats done at home can lower mildly to moderately high blood pressure.

You don’t need a gym, a kit list or a free hour. You need a wall and a few minutes.

Women’s pain is real, and now it’s measured

If you’ve ever had pain brushed off, this study is for you. Published in Nature Medicine, it analysed self-reported pain data from more than 6.1 million people across 118 countries, aged from five to over 100. Because it asked people directly rather than relying on diagnoses, it captures pain that never reaches a doctor’s notes.

The findings are clear. Women reported more pain than men at all 11 body sites studied. The biggest gaps were in headaches, facial pain and abdominal pain: women were 83% more likely than men to experience facial pain, 74% more likely to experience headaches and 60% more likely to experience abdominal pain.

The timing matters too. Pain rose most steeply before 55, which Professor Andrew Horne pointed out falls during women’s working, caring and reproductive years. High-intensity pain peaked at around 50. Some of the drivers can be changed: smoking, obesity and lower household income together accounted for 18.3% of the global pain burden.

The drinks industry has seen where the round is heading

The most telling detail in this month’s biggest functional drinks deal isn’t the amount but who paid it. hiyo, a non-alcoholic “social tonic” brand, raised a $20.8M Series B led by Constellation Brands, one of the world’s biggest beer, wine and spirits companies.

hiyo’s drinks use adaptogens, nootropics and botanicals to create what the brand calls a “float” feeling, and they’re designed as a one-for-one replacement for alcohol on a night out. They’re selling: the brand is on track to sell more than 1M cases this year and is expanding into more than 13,000 shops, as well as hospitality and live events.

The wider market is moving the same way. Functional drinks sales are up 147% over four years to $31.3B, according to NielsenIQ. hiyo is a US brand, but the shift is happening here too: Ocado data suggests three in five Gen Z drinkers would consider swapping alcohol for functional drinks on social occasions.

The point isn’t the drink itself, it’s the ritual. People still want to raise a glass with friends, they just want to feel good the next morning.

What happens in pregnancy doesn’t always stay in pregnancy

Pregnancy is often a woman’s first long stretch of regular contact with the NHS. A study published on 6 October suggests it can also be an early sign of her long-term health.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham and King’s College London analysed the records of more than 1.4 million women in England who had been pregnant between 2000 and 2022. They followed them for an average of four years. Gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia were linked to more than three times the rate of high blood pressure later on, and about twice the rate of chronic kidney disease. Postnatal depression after the most recent pregnancy was linked to a 35 to 56% higher rate of all four conditions studied. Those four were heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease.

Importantly, complications from earlier pregnancies counted too, not just the most recent one. The study is observational, so it can’t show that the complication causes later illness. The complication may instead be an early sign of risk that was already there.

If you had a complicated pregnancy, however long ago, it’s part of your health history. Mention it at your next GP appointment and keep an eye on your blood pressure.