You've probably heard that stress can spike your blood pressure. But what if the key to managing that stress (and potentially lowering your blood pressure) was quite literally at your fingertips? EFT Tapping, a technique that looks deceptively simple, is causing ripples in the medical community. It's not magic, and it's not a miracle cure. But for many, Tapping is becoming a powerful ally in the fight against high blood pressure. In this article, we'll learn all about Tapping for high blood pressure, and how you can start using it today to bring balance to your body.
Important Note: Always consult with a qualified health provider for any medical concerns. While this information and the Tapping meditations are meant to provide support, they are not a replacement for professional medical advice or treatment.
What tapping can and can't do for blood pressure
Before anything else: high blood pressure is a medical condition. It needs a doctor's diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment plan, and if you're on medication for it, keep taking it exactly as prescribed. Tapping is not a blood pressure treatment and doesn't replace your doctor's care.
What tapping can do is work on the stress component that sits alongside high blood pressure for a lot of people, the racing thoughts before an appointment, the tension of a stressful week, the white-coat spike the moment a cuff goes on your arm. Stress and blood pressure are connected, and the one published study measuring this directly (more on it below) found blood pressure changes alongside the stress reduction people reported after tapping. That's a real, specific finding, and it's also the limit of what we can honestly claim: tapping helps the stress around your numbers, alongside your doctor's plan, not instead of it.
What is Tapping for high blood pressure?
EFT Tapping for high blood pressure combines elements of ancient Chinese acupressure with modern psychology. It involves gently tapping on specific points on your body while focusing on whatever is causing you distress, including health concerns like high blood pressure.
The Tapping technique helps to calm your nervous system, reduce stress, and promote balance in your body.
This process can help you release any stress or strong emotions you have about your blood pressure, and potentially even help lower your blood pressure readings.
To learn all about Tapping and how to do it, go here.
The research: Does Tapping to lower blood pressure really work?
You might be wondering, "Does finger tapping really lower blood pressure?" The answer, according to emerging research, is yes!
A 2019 study published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine found that participants who practiced EFT Tapping during a 4-day workshop experienced significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, along with improvements in other physiological markers of health like resting heart rate. [1]
Research has also demonstrated that Tapping can significantly reduce cortisol levels (the stress hormone) by up to 43% after just one hour of practice.[2]
Since stress and high cortisol levels are known to contribute to high blood pressure, this finding suggests that Tapping may indirectly help lower blood pressure by reducing overall stress and cortisol levels in the body.
As the body calms with the help of Tapping, our systems are better able to function as they are meant to, leading to greater balance in things like blood pressure, cardiovascular function, hormone levels, and more.
Research at a glance
| Study | Design | What it found |
|---|---|---|
| Bach, Groesbeck, Stapleton, Sims, Blickheuser & Church (2019), J Evid Based Integr Med | Participants tracked through a 4-day Clinical EFT workshop, physiological markers measured before and after | Significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate, alongside self-reported improvements in stress and anxiety |
| Church, Yount & Brooks (2012), J Nerv Ment Dis | 83 participants, one hour of EFT vs. a supportive interview vs. rest; cortisol measured before and after (context: cortisol is one of the stress hormones linked to blood pressure, not a blood-pressure study itself) | Cortisol down 24% in the EFT group, vs. about 14% in each comparison group |
Bach 2019 is the one study in our library that measured blood pressure directly. The Church 2012 cortisol study is included here as context for the stress mechanism, not as blood-pressure evidence on its own. For the fuller picture on cortisol specifically, see our complete guide to tapping and cortisol.
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While more research is needed to better understand the effects, the existing studies on Tapping for high blood pressure certainly are promising.
And the best part is that EFT Tapping for high blood pressure offers many benefits to those looking for ways to naturally lower their blood pressure:
- Can be done anywhere, anytime
- Simple and easy to learn
- Requires no special tools or training
- Non-invasive and medication-free
- Addresses both physical and emotional aspects of high blood pressure
- Serves as a great complement to other treatments
- Empowers you to take an active role in your health and wellbeing
How to use Tapping to lower blood pressure
Want to learn how to do EFT Tapping for high blood pressure? Download The Tapping Solution App today for guided Tapping meditations specifically designed to support stress reduction and physical health (it's free!)
Choose one of these meditation titles, follow along to the guided process, and start Tapping to lower blood pressure right now:
It's as simple as that. Open the app, follow along, and feel your mind and body begin to find calm and balance. You'll be amazed at how you feel afterwards!
You can also learn all about how to do Tapping here. And you can go here to find a simple EFT Tapping script for stress to follow along with whenever you need.
A 3-minute calm round for blood pressure worry
Use this before a reading, before a doctor's visit, or whenever the worry about your numbers is running high. Rate your stress about it from 0 to 10 first.
- Setup (repeat three times, tapping the side of your hand): "Even though I'm worried about my blood pressure, I accept myself and where I am right now."
- Eyebrow: "This worry about my numbers."
- Side of Eye: "This fear about what it means."
- Under Eye: "My heart pounding, my body on alert."
- Under Nose: "I can't control every number, and that's hard."
- Under Mouth: "I'm doing what I can, following my doctor's plan."
- Collarbone: "Letting my body know it's safe to settle right now."
- Under Arm: "Allowing my breath to slow down."
- Top of Head: "Choosing calm, one breath at a time."
Reassess your number. A calmer body in this moment is the goal here, not a substitute for your doctor's monitoring of your actual blood pressure.
What our data shows
Inside The Tapping Solution App, our Support Your Healing: High Blood Pressure/Hypertension session has been completed 44,626 times, with self-rated stress dropping from an average of 6.9 to 4.0. A second session built for the same topic, Support Your Body: High Blood Pressure/Hypertension, has been completed 26,119 times, moving people from an average of 6.7 to 4.0. Zoom out further and the pattern holds: our 16-session Calm Your Mind category has been completed over 343,000 times, averaging a move from 7.2 to 4.0, and our 58-session Emotional Freedom category has been completed over 4 million times, averaging a move from 7.0 to 4.1.
In a peer-reviewed study of 270,461 App users published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (Church & Stapleton, 2020), a single guided tapping session brought self-rated stress down 45% on average.
This is self-report app data on stress, not a blood pressure reading. The Bach 2019 study above is the one that actually measured blood pressure with a cuff, before and after.
What people say about tapping for stress
"I always go back to this whenever I'm stressed or feeling off. Amazing how I can literally feel the tension go off by the time I tap under the nose or mouth. Just have to be consistent with the taps to reap the benefits."
Haryate, on Release Stress, rated herself a 7 before, a 3 after
"Lots of tears during the first round... less overwhelmed."
Gillian, on Release Overwhelm, rated herself a 10 before, a 4 after
Neither quote above is about blood pressure specifically; they speak to the same stress relief that the Bach 2019 study measured alongside blood pressure changes. For readers' own blood pressure experiences with tapping, see the stories below.
Real-life success stories of using finger Tapping to lower blood pressure
"I've been Tapping every day for almost 9 weeks… I've reduced my systolic pressure by 20 points. Thank you, I'm a big fan of this Tapping App. It's amazing, and improved so many aspects of my life."
-Genevieve
"My blood pressure went from 139/104 to 107/79!!! This tapping is truly life saving. Thank you all so very much."
-Keisha
"From doing this tapping my blood pressure went down from 160/88 to 125/66!!!"
-Gail
"I absolutely seen proof positive that this works. I took my blood pressure and it was dangerously high but this brought it down quite significantly even 2 minutes later doing this tapping lowered it more to a reasonable blood pressure so this is great. I love it."
-Brent
"I've been Tapping since April this year. I find that it helps me in so many situations. For example, I have white coat syndrome every time I am at my doctors office. My blood pressure rises to an abnormal high number. One time it was 146/96. So I become more stressed out because I think the doctor will suggest using medication to control my blood pressure. Last doctors visit, I tapped in the examination room before the nurse took my blood pressure. It worked wonders. To my delight, my blood pressure was 127/74. Tapping really works to relieve stress."
-Sue
"Normally I have high blood pressure 130 / 70 and higher. Today I've found blood pressure monitor, and the initial reading showed my normal numbers. I've sat down, relaxed and focused on the heart, and start releasing heaviness and blood pressure in the heart, old memories and childhood traumas started to come up, I've tapped deep into it, felt the surge of energy about to take me over but k finally able to make peace with it and let go of resistance… And I couldn't believe my eyes, blood pressure dropped to 101/77 after 5 minutes, (shame I didn't take picture of the initial readings.)"
-Eugene
"I have spent a week with my father who needed care giving 24/7. I am exhausted and angry. This helped me drop my high blood pressure 7 points!!!"
-Robin
If you want a more complete system for working with stress and the body, my book The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief is a good next step.
Tap along with me
Want to follow along out loud? This short session works through the same stress response this page is about.
Go deeper
- Tapping for stress relief, our complete guide to using tapping for everyday stress.
- Tapping and cortisol, the research on tapping and the stress hormone linked to blood pressure.
- Nervous system regulation, for when your body stays wound up even after the stressful moment passes.
- The 9 tapping points, with a printable chart.
- EFT tapping phrases and EFT tapping scripts, for more ways to word a round.
- Try Support Your Healing: High Blood Pressure/Hypertension free in The Tapping Solution App.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tapping for high blood pressure?
EFT Tapping for high blood pressure combines elements of ancient Chinese acupressure with modern psychology. It involves gently tapping on specific points on your body while focusing on whatever is causing you distress, including health concerns like high blood pressure. The Tapping technique helps to calm your nervous system, reduce stress, and promote balance in your body.
Does Tapping to lower blood pressure really work?
A 2019 study published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine found that participants who practiced EFT Tapping during a 4-day workshop experienced significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, along with improvements in other physiological markers of health like resting heart rate.
Can tapping lower blood pressure?
High blood pressure is a medical condition, and tapping is not a blood pressure treatment. What the research supports is tapping's effect on the stress component: a 2019 study found reductions in blood pressure alongside stress reduction after a multi-day EFT workshop. Use tapping alongside your doctor's plan, not instead of it, and never stop or change blood pressure medication without talking to your doctor first.
What did the study find?
Bach et al. (2019), published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, followed a large group of people through a four-day Clinical EFT workshop and measured several physiological markers before and after. They found significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate, alongside the psychological improvements participants reported.
Is tapping safe to do alongside blood pressure medication?
Yes. Tapping is a relaxation and stress-reduction practice, not a medication or a substitute for one. Keep taking your blood pressure medication exactly as prescribed, and tell your doctor you're using tapping alongside your treatment plan so they have the full picture.
How often should I tap for blood pressure?
Many people tap for a few minutes daily as a stress-management habit, plus in the moment before a reading, before a doctor's visit, or whenever they notice stress climbing. Consistency matters more than length; a short daily round tends to help more than one long session now and then.
What do you say when tapping for blood pressure?
Start with what's true right now: "Even though I'm worried about my blood pressure, I accept myself and where I am." Then get specific about the stress underneath it, the appointment you're dreading, the number you saw last time, the fear driving the worry, rather than staying general.
When should I get help right now?
Call emergency services for a blood pressure reading in a hypertensive-crisis range, chest pain, severe headache, shortness of breath, vision changes, or confusion. Tapping is a tool for everyday stress, not a response to a medical emergency.
Until next time… Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner
Now part of a Medicare program
Many of the people who write to us about blood pressure are on Medicare, so I want to make sure you know this: tapping is now part of a Medicare program. NeuroTap Health, our sister company, offers a guided tapping program for adults with Original Medicare living with anxiety, depression, or chronic pain, at $0 out of pocket. It's not a blood pressure treatment, but if stress and worry are part of your picture, here's how it works.
References
- Bach D, Groesbeck G, Stapleton P, Sims R, Blickheuser K, Church D. Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health. J Evid Based Integr Med. 2019;24:2515690X18823691.
- Stapleton P, Crighton G, Sabot D, O'Neill HM. Reexamining the effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Psychol Trauma. 2020;12(8):869-877.
