You probably don’t think all that much about your blood flow. You have blood, it flows — what more is there? And yet, the state of your blood circulation is a very important consideration for your physical health. If you’re an athlete, it can have ramifications for your performance too. If you’re wondering how to improve blood circulation in the body, you might already know that because blood is how oxygen gets to your muscles and brain, good circulation translates into clearer thinking and stronger muscles. If you’re looking for natural ways to improve blood circulation, without pills or medications, you’ve come to the right place — and there’s a lot you can do!

Natural Ways to Improve Blood Circulation:

• Exercise — This is a big one. A report in 2003 noted significant benefits from exercising for blood flow.¹ As you use your muscles, your heart beats faster, to send more blood (and with it oxygen and nutrients), to the parts of your body that need it. Exercise promotes a healthy circulatory system, and tons of other benefits — it is the quintessential answer for how to naturally improve blood circulation in the body.²
• Yoga — You might not expect it, but yoga is great for your circulation! Like exercise, yoga has been shown to increase hemoglobin levels, which allows your blood to carry more oxygen throughout your body.³ Mind Body Green⁴ has a guide to poses you can practice to improve your circulation; think of yoga as a handy exercise to try out before an important game or practice.
• Stress Management — A stressed body doesn’t work as efficiently as an unstressed one; it’s as simple as that. Try to keep yourself in a good state of mind so that your entire body and brain are working harmoniously and effectively. The hormones your body can release in reaction to stress can even cause your arteries to narrow, making blood circulation more difficult!⁵
• Hydration & Healthy Eating — Low-density lipoproteins can, over time, lead to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries that hinders blood circulation. High-density lipoproteins, on the other hand, absorbs and helps to filter cholesterol.⁶ With that in mind, eating certain foods helps to promote healthy arteries, which aids in naturally improving your circulation. HealthLine has a good list of foods you can enjoy to improve your blood flow here.⁷

Fun science-y fact: If you could remove your blood vessels from your body and unfold them into a single “tube,” it would stretch about 60,000 miles.⁸ For context, that would be like driving from New York City to San Francisco and back ten times!

As long as your blood circulation isn’t bad, you don’t have to worry about it from a health standpoint, but good circulation means better workouts, stronger play in games, and enhanced overall performance. With good flow, your muscles have a better intake of oxygen, which means that you can perform for longer before you get tired.⁹

Maximizing blood flow means maximizing performance. Understanding how to improve blood circulation in the body is key to getting the most out of every workout, every practice, and every game, and you can do it all completely naturally, worked into your pre-existing routine! eSmartr is here to help you maximize your performance — smart compression is just the start of how you can improve your game.

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^{1. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.CIR.0000048890.59383.8D
2. Mairbäurl H. (2013). Red blood cells in sports: effects of exercise and training on oxygen supply by red blood cells. Frontiers in physiology, 4, 332. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00332
3. https://www.medicinenet.com/hemoglobin/article.htm
4. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/these-are-the-best-yoga-poses-for-circulation
5. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/stress-and-high-blood-pressure/art-20044190
6. https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/ldl_hdl.htm
7. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods-that-increase-blood-flow
8. https://www.webmd.com/dvt/ss/slideshow-dvt-improve-circulation
9. https://boxlifemagazine.com/the-importance-of-good-blood-circulation-a-few-tips-to-improve-it/}