If your blood pressure consistently reads below 90/60 mmHg and you’re feeling dizzy, lightheaded, or fatigued, there are several proven ways to bring it up. Most involve simple changes to how you eat, drink, and move throughout the day. A drop of just 20 mmHg in systolic pressure (the top number) can be enough to make you feel faint, so even small improvements matter.
Drink More Water
Increasing your fluid intake is one of the fastest and simplest ways to raise blood pressure. Water expands your blood volume, which directly increases the pressure inside your vessels. For people with chronically low blood pressure, the recommended daily fluid intake is 2 to 3 liters (roughly 68 to 100 ounces). Drinking water also triggers an acute rise in blood pressure that improves your ability to stand without getting dizzy, even in otherwise healthy people.
Drinking a full glass of water 15 to 30 minutes before standing up in the morning or before activities that trigger symptoms can make a noticeable difference. Keep a water bottle nearby throughout the day rather than trying to catch up in large amounts.
Increase Your Salt Intake
Salt helps your body hold onto water, which increases blood volume and raises blood pressure. This is the opposite of what people with high blood pressure are told, but for low blood pressure it’s a legitimate treatment. In clinical studies, patients given about 6 grams of sodium chloride daily (roughly 1 teaspoon of table salt) showed meaningful improvements in their ability to tolerate standing upright.
You can increase salt through food by adding it to meals, choosing salted snacks, drinking broth, or eating pickled foods. Some people find electrolyte drinks helpful. If you have kidney disease or heart failure, talk to your doctor before increasing sodium, since extra salt can worsen those conditions.
Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals
Blood pressure commonly drops after eating, a condition called postprandial hypotension. Here’s why: after a meal, your body redirects blood flow to your digestive system. Normally, your heart rate increases and blood vessels elsewhere tighten to compensate. When that response is sluggish, blood pressure falls. Large meals make this worse because they demand more blood flow to the gut for a longer period.
Switching from three large meals to six smaller ones throughout the day reduces the digestive demand at any one time and helps keep your blood pressure more stable. Cutting back on refined carbohydrates at meals can also help, since high-carb meals tend to produce larger blood pressure drops.
Use Physical Counter-Pressure Maneuvers
When you feel symptoms coming on, certain muscle-tensing techniques can buy you time by pushing blood back toward your heart and brain. These are especially useful when you’re standing in line, waiting for an elevator, or in any situation where you can’t sit down immediately.
- Leg crossing: Cross one leg over the other and squeeze the muscles in your legs, abdomen, and buttocks. Hold until symptoms fade.
- 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 the dizziness passes.
- Hand grip: Squeeze a rubber ball (or any firm object) in your dominant hand for as long as possible.
These won’t fix your blood pressure long-term, but they can prevent fainting in the moment. Many people with low blood pressure learn to do them reflexively when they feel that familiar wave of lightheadedness.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings prevent blood from pooling in your legs when you stand, which is one of the main reasons blood pressure drops in the upright position. 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 put on but less effective because a significant amount of blood pools in the abdomen and thighs, not just the calves.
The higher the pressure rating, the more effective the stocking, but also the harder it is to get on. Starting with 20 to 30 mmHg is reasonable for most people. Put them on before getting out of bed in the morning, since that’s when blood pooling is most likely to cause problems.
Caffeine for a Short-Term Boost
Caffeine can raise blood pressure by 5 to 10 points, particularly if you don’t drink it regularly. The effect kicks in within 30 minutes and can last up to two hours. A cup of coffee or tea before meals or before activities that trigger symptoms can provide a temporary buffer. Over time, regular caffeine drinkers develop some tolerance to this effect, so it works best for occasional or strategic use rather than as a primary strategy.
Elevate the Head of Your Bed
Sleeping with your head slightly raised (about 10 degrees, or 9 inches of elevation at the head of the bed) helps your body maintain better blood pressure regulation overnight. This isn’t the same as propping yourself up with pillows, which mainly bends your neck and back. Instead, place blocks or a wedge under the legs at the head of the bed so your entire body is on a gentle incline. This position trains your body to retain fluid and improves your blood pressure response when you stand up in the morning.
Prescription Medications
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, doctors can prescribe medications that raise blood pressure through two main approaches. One type works by helping your kidneys retain sodium, which increases blood volume. The other type directly tightens blood vessels, physically raising pressure. Your doctor will choose based on your specific pattern of symptoms, since the blood-volume approach carries a higher risk of hospitalization compared to the vessel-tightening approach in some studies.
Red Flags That Need Urgent Attention
Low blood pressure from dehydration, standing too fast, or a naturally low baseline is usually manageable with the strategies above. But sudden drops in blood pressure can also signal something more serious, including internal bleeding, severe infection, or heart problems. If you’re fainting repeatedly, have persistent abnormal vital signs, chest pain, signs of significant blood loss, or a known heart condition, those symptoms need medical evaluation rather than home management. A family history of sudden death combined with fainting episodes is another signal that warrants prompt workup.