Low blood pressure, generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, can be raised through a combination of increased fluid and salt intake, physical techniques, compression garments, and dietary adjustments. A drop of just 20 mmHg in systolic pressure is enough to cause dizziness or fainting, so knowing how to bring your numbers up matters for daily functioning and safety.
Drink More Water, Starting Now
Water is one of the fastest and most effective tools for raising blood pressure. Research published in Circulation found that drinking about 16 ounces (480 mL) of water raised seated blood pressure by 11 mmHg in older adults and as much as 43 mmHg in people with autonomic disorders. The effect kicked in within five minutes, peaked around 30 to 35 minutes, and lasted over an hour. Drinking 8 ounces produced a smaller effect, so volume matters.
If you deal with chronically low blood pressure, keeping a water bottle nearby and sipping consistently throughout the day helps maintain blood volume. Most people with hypotension benefit from aiming for at least 8 to 10 cups daily, though your needs will vary with activity level, climate, and body size.
Increase Your Salt Intake
Salt helps your body retain water, which expands blood volume and pushes pressure up. While most public health advice focuses on reducing sodium, people with low blood pressure are often encouraged to do the opposite. Adding salt to meals, eating salty snacks like olives or broth, or using electrolyte drinks can all help. Some people aim for an additional 1 to 2 grams of sodium per day beyond what they’d normally eat, but the right amount depends on your overall health and any other conditions you have.
Physical Maneuvers That Work Immediately
When you feel lightheaded or sense your blood pressure dropping, certain muscle-tensing techniques can buy you time by squeezing blood from your legs and abdomen back toward your heart and brain. The American Heart Association recommends several of these “counterpressure maneuvers”:
- Leg crossing with tensing: Cross your legs and squeeze your leg, abdominal, and buttock muscles while standing or lying down.
- Squatting: Lower yourself into a squat, tense your lower body and abdomen, then stand slowly once the dizziness passes.
- Isometric hand grip: Grip your hands together, interlocking fingers, and pull your arms in opposite directions with maximum force.
- Fist clenching: Make a tight fist and hold the contraction for several seconds.
These are especially useful in situations where you can’t sit or lie down right away, like standing in a grocery line or waiting for the bus.
Lie Down and Elevate Your Legs
If your blood pressure drops sharply and you feel faint, lying down and raising your legs above heart level is more effective than simply lying flat. A comprehensive review comparing body positions found that passive leg raising increased cardiac output by about 6% and, critically, sustained that effect beyond the first minute. Tilting the whole body head-down (the classic Trendelenburg position used in hospitals) produced a larger initial spike of 9%, but the benefit faded quickly. For a sustained response, elevating just the legs while lying on your back is the better choice.
Wear Compression Garments
Blood pooling in your legs and abdomen is a major contributor to low blood pressure, especially if you have a condition affecting your autonomic nervous system. Compression garments counteract this by physically pushing blood back toward your core. Dysautonomia International notes that most specialists recommend waist-high compression stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Waist-high is preferable to knee-high because blood pools throughout the lower half of the body, not just in the calves. That said, knee-high or thigh-high stockings still help if waist-high versions feel too uncomfortable to wear consistently.
Putting them on first thing in the morning, before you stand up and blood starts pooling, gives you the most benefit throughout the day.
Adjust How and What You Eat
Blood pressure naturally drops after meals as your body diverts blood to the digestive system. This post-meal dip typically bottoms out 30 to 60 minutes after eating and can cause pronounced symptoms in people who already run low. Several dietary strategies reduce this effect.
Eating smaller, more frequent meals places less demand on your circulatory system than two or three large ones. Cutting back on rapidly digested carbohydrates, like white bread, white rice, potatoes, and sugary drinks, also helps. These foods move quickly from the stomach to the small intestine, accelerating the blood pressure drop. Replacing them with whole grains, beans, protein, and healthy fats slows digestion and keeps your pressure more stable.
Drinking 12 to 18 ounces of water about 15 minutes before a meal can blunt the post-meal dip, according to Harvard Health. And if you’re prone to feeling dizzy after eating, sitting or lying down for an hour afterward gives your body time to recover before you’re back on your feet.
Medications for Chronic Hypotension
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, prescription medications can help. The most commonly prescribed option works by narrowing blood vessels, which directly increases the pressure inside them. Another class of medication helps your kidneys retain sodium and water, expanding blood volume over time. These are typically reserved for people whose low blood pressure significantly interferes with daily life, causes repeated fainting, or stems from an underlying condition like autonomic dysfunction. Most healthcare professionals consider blood pressure “too low” only when it produces symptoms, so treatment decisions are based on how you feel, not just the numbers on the cuff.
Everyday Habits That Help
Beyond the major strategies, a few smaller habits make a noticeable difference. Getting up slowly from sitting or lying positions gives your cardiovascular system time to adjust. Avoiding prolonged standing, especially in hot weather, reduces the amount of blood pooling in your legs. Caffeine can provide a short-term boost, though the effect varies from person to person and tends to diminish with regular use. Sleeping with the head of your bed elevated a few inches trains your body to retain more fluid overnight, which can reduce morning dizziness.
Alcohol works against you. It dilates blood vessels and promotes dehydration, both of which push pressure lower. If you notice symptoms worsening after drinking, cutting back is one of the simplest adjustments you can make.