3 Ways To Make Checking Your Blood Pressure A Habit

At The Natalie Kate Moss Trust, we are dedicated to preventing the preventable.

We firmly believe that educating and empowering individuals to understand why brain haemorrhages happen can help prevent more tragedies. While not all brain haemorrhages are preventable, many are. (Find out more about brain haemorrhages.)

Why Blood Pressure Matters

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is the leading cause of lifestyle-related brain haemorrhages. Alarmingly, one-third of people have high blood pressure, and 50% of them don’t know it.

Hypertension is often symptomless, meaning it can go unnoticed and unmanaged. Over time, this silent condition can severely damage your arteries, heart, and brain, leading to serious health complications, including brain haemorrhages, strokes, heart attacks, and more. Hypertension is linked to 10 million deaths annually.

While high blood pressure is sometimes perceived as an "old person’s problem," it affects people of all ages. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 16–35 age group has the highest percentage of undiagnosed cases relative to other age groups.

Many young individuals assume they are healthy because they are not overweight, don’t smoke, or lead active lifestyles. This self-diagnosis often prevents them from monitoring their blood pressure, putting them at significant risk.

Regularly checking your blood pressure is crucial, as it enables you to manage it effectively and reduce the risk of serious complications.

Barriers to Monitoring Blood Pressure

Some common reasons people don’t check their blood pressure include:

• Lack of awareness about the risks or importance of monitoring.

• Believing they are "too young" to have high blood pressure.

• Assuming they are healthy due to lifestyle factors.

• Not having regular access to a monitor.

• Forgetting to check because it’s not part of their routine.

At The Natalie Kate Moss Trust, we are on a mission to help you overcome these barriers. By making blood pressure monitoring a habit, you can take control of your health and work to Prevent the Preventable. Here are three practical ways to do just that.

1. Get Easy Access to a Monitor

   The majority of people we speak to would only get their blood pressure checked when they go to see their GP but repeatedly setting up a GP appointment is not practical.

   
   

   And whilst you can also get your blood pressure checked at most local pharmacies or Tesco Pharmacy (Head to the store locator on our prevention page to find your nearest Tesco Pharmacy), you still have to make an effort to head out to a pharmacy every few weeks to check your blood pressure and practically this would be hard to keep us and maintain as a habit.

   
   

   The easier the access you have to a machine, the more likely you are to create a better habit of checking your blood pressure more often and this is why we would recommend purchasing your own blood pressure monitor.

   
   

   Moreover by having your own blood pressure monitor, you will:

   
   

   • Check your blood pressure more often. A blood pressure reading is a snapshot in time, and by checking your blood pressure more often you have a clearer picture of what your blood pressure is over time. Checking your blood pressure infrequently may give you a false indication of your blood pressure (i.e. it could be raised in that moment for a number of reasons, but overall you may have normal blood pressure).

   • It removes the potential of ‘White Coat Syndrome’: This is the term for when you get a high blood pressure reading in a doctor's office and a normal reading at home due to the anxiety of being around doctors in white coats can make your blood pressure rise.

   
   

   We would recommend OMRON monitors as they are The No. 1 recommended brand by cardiologists.

2. Schedule It

   We schedule everything from meetings to fitness classes—so why not blood pressure checks? Adding this quick, one-minute task to your calendar can help you build a life-saving habit.

   
   

   Sign up for our monthly reminder emails, which are sent at the start of each month to prompt you to check your blood pressure.

   
   

   If you discover high blood pressure, there are steps you can take to manage it and reduce the risk of complications. If you’re ever concerned, contact your GP immediately.

3. Stack It with Another Habit

   A proven way to build new habits is through habit stacking—linking a new habit to an existing one. For example, if you take vitamins every morning, use that time to check your blood pressure.

   
   

   Other examples of habit stacking include:

   
   

   • Checking your blood pressure after brushing your teeth.

   • Pairing it with your monthly breast self-exam.

   • Adding it to your routine when doing regular tasks like reviewing accounts or sorting laundry.

   
   

   By combining this small, proactive habit with your current routine, you can make it a seamless part of your life.

Take Control of Your Health

Making blood pressure monitoring a habit is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect yourself from serious health risks like brain haemorrhages. It only takes a minute but could save your life.

Let’s work together to Prevent the Preventable—start building this habit today!