Low blood pressure, generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, can be raised through a combination of dietary changes, physical techniques, compression garments, and in some cases medication. A drop of just 20 mmHg from your normal baseline is enough to cause dizziness or fainting, so even modest improvements matter. The right approach depends on whether your low readings are occasional or chronic, and whether they’re tied to standing up, eating, or something else entirely.
Increase Your Salt and Fluid Intake
Salt is the single most effective dietary tool for raising blood pressure. It works by pulling more water into your bloodstream, which increases blood volume and pushes pressure up. Most healthy adults are told to limit sodium, but if your blood pressure runs low, the opposite advice applies.
Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic disorders (blood pressure that drops when standing) recommend 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day, and some specialists push that to 4,000 to 8,000 mg for more severe cases. For context, the average American consumes about 3,400 mg daily. One study found that adding roughly 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium per day for two months improved blood pressure regulation and reduced fainting episodes in people whose levels were previously low.
A practical way to increase sodium is to add 1,000 to 2,000 mg to your diet with each meal. Salting your food more liberally, eating broth-based soups, snacking on salted nuts or olives, and drinking electrolyte beverages all help. Pair the extra salt with more water. Dehydration is one of the most common and fixable causes of low blood pressure, and salt without adequate fluid won’t do much.
Use Physical Counter-Maneuvers
When you feel lightheaded or sense your blood pressure dropping, certain muscle-tensing techniques can raise it within seconds. The American Heart Association recommends several of these for people prone to fainting:
- Leg crossing with tensing: Cross your legs and squeeze your leg, abdominal, and buttock muscles simultaneously. This works while lying down or standing.
- Squatting: Lower yourself into a squat and tense your lower body and abdomen. Stay there until symptoms pass, then stand slowly.
- Hand gripping: Grip your hands together, fingers interlocked, and pull your arms in opposite directions as hard as you can.
- Fist clenching: Clench your fist at maximum force, with or without an object in your hand.
These work by compressing blood vessels and forcing blood back toward your heart and brain. They’re not a long-term fix, but they can prevent a faint in the moment and buy you time to sit down or adjust your position.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings and abdominal binders physically squeeze blood out of your lower body and back into circulation. Most experts recommend waist-high stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Waist-high is important because blood pools throughout the legs, thighs, and abdomen, not just below the knee. Knee-high or thigh-high stockings are easier to wear but less effective.
If you’ve never worn compression garments, start with the lower pressure range (20 to 30 mmHg) and put them on first thing in the morning before you stand up. They make the biggest difference for people whose blood pressure drops when they’re upright for extended periods.
Adjust How and When You Eat
Blood pressure naturally dips after meals as your body redirects blood flow to your digestive system. Large, carb-heavy meals make this worse. If you notice lightheadedness after eating, a few changes can help:
Eat six smaller meals instead of three large ones. Keep carbohydrates moderate at each sitting. Drink 12 to 16 ounces of water before a meal, which pre-loads your blood volume and buffers the drop. A short 10-minute walk after eating also helps counteract the post-meal dip by keeping blood circulating through your muscles. Some people find that lying down briefly after a meal helps too, though walking is generally more effective at maintaining pressure.
Try Caffeine Strategically
A cup of coffee can raise blood pressure by up to 10 mmHg, which is meaningful if your readings are borderline low. The effect kicks in within about 30 minutes, peaks around an hour, then gradually fades. Drinking coffee or tea before breakfast or lunch can help offset the blood pressure drop that follows meals.
Caffeine works best as a tool for specific vulnerable windows (mornings, post-meal periods) rather than as an all-day strategy. Your body builds tolerance over time, so the effect may diminish if you drink large amounts daily.
Medications That Raise Blood Pressure
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, several prescription medications can raise blood pressure. The most commonly used is midodrine, which tightens blood vessels and is taken up to three times a day. Another option, fludrocortisone, works differently: it helps your kidneys retain sodium, which increases blood volume and also makes blood vessels more responsive to tightening signals. Both are well-established treatments for chronic low blood pressure, particularly the kind that drops when you stand.
These medications require careful monitoring because they can overshoot and cause high blood pressure while lying down. Your doctor will typically start at a low dose and adjust based on your readings in different positions throughout the day.
Look for an Underlying Cause
Persistently low blood pressure sometimes signals a treatable condition rather than being the problem itself. Severely underactive thyroid function can lower blood pressure, and in extreme cases this becomes a medical emergency. Anemia, adrenal insufficiency, and heart valve problems can all reduce blood pressure as well. Certain medications, particularly those for high blood pressure, depression, or prostate enlargement, are among the most common culprits.
If your blood pressure has dropped recently or you’re experiencing new symptoms like persistent fatigue, confusion, cold or clammy skin, or blurred vision, identifying and treating the root cause will often resolve the low readings on its own. A basic workup including blood counts and thyroid function can rule out the most common medical contributors.