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You might not think about it as much as you do eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep, but maintaining good circulation is one of the most important building blocks to keeping your health on the rails.

12 Ways to Improve Your Circulation for Healthy Blood Flow, According to Doctors

These science-backed habits will help keep heart and vascular disease out of your future.

Prevention Krissy Brady

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You might not think about it as much as you do eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep, but maintaining good circulation is one of the most important building blocks to keeping your health on the rails.

“The most common symptom of impaired circulation to the legs is claudication,” says Caitlin W. Hicks, M.D., a board-certified vascular surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. 

• “It’s a condition where you may experience pain in the buttocks or calves when walking that goes away with rest.”

Cold extremities, leg swelling, and foot wounds that take a while to heal, especially if you have a family history, are all signs you should check in with a vascular specialist.

1. Go on regular walks

Walking can benefit both the arteries and veins. “Contraction of the calf muscles causes venous blood to be pushed back up to the heart,” says Misty Humphries, M.D., a board-certified vascular surgeon and associate professor of vascular surgery in Sacramento, CA. “The arteries dilate when patients walk and improve blood flow all throughout the body.” 

• Aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of walking three times per week.

But if walking’s not your thing, any type of sweat session can improve circulation. “When you exercise, your muscles need greater blood flow, which supplies oxygen and other nutrients,” says Nachiket Patel, M.D., a board-certified interventional cardiologist and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.

• Shoot for 20 minutes of heart-pumping cardio (think: cycling, elliptical, HIIT) four to five times per week. (Note: If it’s been a while since your last workout, you may want to consider checking in with your doc before starting a new routine).. .

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