If your blood pressure regularly reads below 90/60 mmHg and you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or fatigued, there are several practical steps you can take to bring it up. Low blood pressure only needs attention when it causes symptoms, but when it does, the right combination of dietary changes, physical habits, and lifestyle adjustments can make a real difference.
Drink More Fluids
One of the simplest and most effective ways to raise blood pressure is increasing your fluid intake. More fluid in your body means more blood volume, which directly pushes pressure higher. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends about 11 cups (2.7 liters) of total daily fluid for women and 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) for men, including fluids from food. If you’re dealing with low blood pressure, you may need to be at or above these targets consistently.
Water is the foundation, but adding electrolytes helps your body actually retain that fluid rather than flushing it out. Drinking a glass of water with a pinch of salt, or choosing an electrolyte drink, can be more effective than plain water alone. Try to front-load your fluids in the morning, since blood pressure tends to be lowest after sleeping.
Increase Your Salt Intake
While most health advice focuses on limiting sodium, people with low blood pressure are an exception. Salt causes your body to retain water, which expands blood volume and raises pressure. Adding extra salt to meals, eating salted snacks, or drinking broth are all straightforward ways to do this. If you have kidney problems or heart failure, check with your doctor first, but for otherwise healthy people with low blood pressure, more salt is genuinely helpful.
Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals
Large meals can cause a significant blood pressure drop during digestion, a condition called postprandial hypotension. Your body diverts blood to the gut to handle a big meal, leaving less for the rest of your circulation. This is why some people feel dizzy or faint after eating.
Switching from three large meals to six smaller ones throughout the day keeps blood flow more stable. Meals that are lower in carbohydrates help even more, since carbs trigger the largest blood pressure dips. Pairing carbohydrates with protein and fat slows digestion and blunts the drop. If you notice your symptoms are worst after meals, this change alone can be significant.
Use Physical Counter-Maneuvers
When you feel a wave of dizziness or lightheadedness, specific muscle-tensing techniques can push blood pressure up within seconds. These work by squeezing blood out of your muscles and back into central circulation. Cleveland Clinic recommends three main techniques:
- Leg crossing: Cross one leg over the other and squeeze the muscles in your legs, abdomen, and buttocks. Hold until symptoms pass.
- Arm tensing: Grip one hand with the other and pull them against each other without letting go. Hold as long as you can or until symptoms disappear.
- Handgrip: Squeeze a rubber ball in your dominant hand for as long as you can or until you feel better.
These are especially useful if you get dizzy when standing up. Getting into the habit of crossing your legs and tensing before you rise from a chair or bed can prevent the worst drops.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings prevent blood from pooling in your legs when you stand. Gravity naturally pulls blood downward, and in people with low blood pressure, the body doesn’t always compensate fast enough. Compression garments counteract this by physically squeezing blood back toward your heart and brain.
For low blood pressure, most specialists recommend waist-high stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Knee-high stockings are easier to wear but less effective, since a large amount of blood pools in the thighs and abdomen. Waist-high options or abdominal binders provide the most benefit. They’re most helpful during the hours you spend upright, so putting them on before you get out of bed in the morning is ideal.
Elevate the Head of Your Bed
Sleeping with your head slightly raised can reduce the sharp blood pressure drop many people experience when they first stand up in the morning. The slight tilt trains your body to retain more fluid overnight instead of losing it through increased kidney output during flat sleep.
There’s no single proven angle that works best. One approach that has shown promise is gradually raising the head of the bed over several weeks, reaching around 15 inches (38 cm) of elevation at the headboard, which works out to roughly 11 degrees. Starting small and increasing gradually makes it easier to tolerate. You can use bed risers or a foam wedge under the mattress rather than just stacking pillows, which tend to shift overnight and only bend your neck rather than tilting your whole body.
Watch Your Caffeine and Alcohol
Caffeine temporarily raises blood pressure by narrowing blood vessels and increasing heart rate. A cup of coffee or tea before meals or before periods when you’re most symptomatic can provide a modest boost. The effect varies from person to person and diminishes with habitual use, but it’s a simple tool worth trying.
Alcohol, on the other hand, lowers blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels and promoting dehydration. If you’re already dealing with low blood pressure, even moderate drinking can worsen symptoms. Limiting alcohol or avoiding it during times when your symptoms are worst is a practical step.
Move Gradually When Changing Positions
Many people with low blood pressure feel worst when transitioning from lying down to sitting, or sitting to standing. This happens because gravity suddenly shifts blood away from the brain. You can minimize this by moving in stages: sit on the edge of the bed for 30 seconds before standing, flex your calves a few times while seated, and avoid jumping up quickly. Pumping your ankles up and down before standing activates the muscle pump in your calves and primes your circulation.
When Lifestyle Changes Aren’t Enough
If dietary and behavioral strategies don’t control your symptoms, prescription medications are available. The two most commonly used work through different mechanisms. One type narrows blood vessels directly, physically increasing resistance and raising pressure. The other promotes sodium and water retention, expanding blood volume over time. Both are effective but come with tradeoffs. The sodium-retention approach, for example, can deplete potassium levels in nearly half of patients within the first week. Your doctor can help determine which option fits your situation based on the underlying cause of your low blood pressure and any other conditions you have.
Low blood pressure has many possible causes, from dehydration and medication side effects to nervous system conditions. The strategies above work broadly, but identifying and treating the root cause, when possible, is always the most effective long-term solution.