If your blood pressure is running low, you can bring it up through a combination of fluid intake, salt, physical maneuvers, compression, and dietary changes. Low blood pressure is generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, and even a drop of 20 mmHg from your normal baseline can cause dizziness or faintness. The strategies below range from things you can do right now to longer-term habits that keep your pressure more stable throughout the day.
Drink Water Quickly
One of the fastest ways to raise blood pressure is to drink about 16 ounces (480 mL) of water in a short period. This triggers what’s called a pressor response: your blood pressure begins rising within five minutes, peaks around 30 to 35 minutes later, and stays elevated for over an hour. A smaller amount (around 8 ounces) produces a weaker effect, so drinking a full glass or two relatively quickly is more effective than sipping slowly over time.
This works particularly well before situations that tend to drop your pressure, like standing for long periods or eating a large meal. Drinking 12 to 18 ounces of water about 15 minutes before a meal can specifically blunt the blood pressure dip that commonly follows eating.
Physical Maneuvers That Work Immediately
If you feel lightheaded or notice your blood pressure dropping, certain muscle-tensing movements can push blood back toward your heart and raise your pressure within seconds. The American Heart Association recommends several options:
- Leg crossing with muscle tensing. Cross your legs and squeeze your thigh, buttock, and abdominal muscles simultaneously. You can do this lying down or standing.
- Squatting. Lower yourself into a squat while tensing your lower body and abdomen. Stay there until symptoms ease, then stand slowly.
- Isometric handgrip. Grip your hands together, interlocking your fingers, and pull your arms in opposite directions as hard as you can. Alternatively, clench your fist at maximum force around a small object.
These are especially useful for orthostatic hypotension, the kind of blood pressure drop that happens when you stand up too quickly. They buy your body time to adjust.
Increase Your Salt Intake
For most health conditions, people are told to cut salt. Low blood pressure is the opposite. Sodium helps your body retain fluid, which increases blood volume and raises pressure. Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic disorders recommend significantly more sodium than the general population consumes.
The Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommends about 4,000 mg of sodium per day for people with orthostatic conditions. Some expert guidelines go higher, up to 4,800 mg daily for conditions like POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). A practical approach is to add 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to your diet three times per day through salted foods, broth, or salt tablets. One study found that adding roughly 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium per day for two months improved both standing tolerance and blood flow regulation in people prone to fainting.
If you’re unsure whether you’re getting enough sodium, a 24-hour urine test can measure how much you’re excreting. Levels below about 3,900 mg of sodium per day typically signal room to increase.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression clothing prevents blood from pooling in your legs and abdomen, which is one of the main reasons blood pressure drops when you stand. For the best results, full lower-body compression (covering both the abdomen and legs) outperforms knee-high stockings alone. Waist-high compression leggings or stockings are the standard recommendation.
Start with 20 to 30 mmHg of compression. If that feels too tight or hard to put on, step down to 15 to 20 mmHg. If it doesn’t feel like enough, 30 to 40 mmHg provides stronger support. Adding an abdominal compression garment or shapewear vest on top of waist-high leg compression tends to produce the best outcomes, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Manage Post-Meal Blood Pressure Drops
Blood pressure typically hits its lowest point 30 to 60 minutes after eating, a phenomenon called postprandial hypotension. Large meals trigger bigger drops than small ones, and rapidly digested carbohydrates make the problem worse. White bread, white rice, potatoes, and sugary drinks all pass quickly from the stomach to the small intestine, pulling blood flow toward digestion and away from the rest of your body.
Switching to smaller, more frequent meals helps. Replacing refined carbohydrates with whole grains, beans, protein, and healthy fats slows digestion and keeps your pressure more stable. If you still feel lightheaded after eating, sitting or lying down for an hour afterward gives your body time to recover. Combined with the water-before-meals strategy mentioned earlier, these changes can significantly reduce post-meal symptoms.
Longer-Term Lifestyle Adjustments
Beyond the immediate fixes, a few daily habits help maintain higher baseline blood pressure. Elevating the head of your bed by 4 to 6 inches (using blocks under the legs, not extra pillows) trains your body to retain more fluid overnight, which improves morning blood pressure. Standing up in stages, sitting on the edge of the bed for a minute before getting up, gives your cardiovascular system time to adjust.
Caffeine can raise blood pressure temporarily, so a cup of coffee before activities that challenge your blood pressure (like prolonged standing or a big meal) may help. Alcohol, on the other hand, dilates blood vessels and tends to lower pressure, so limiting it is worth considering if low blood pressure is a recurring problem.
When Low Blood Pressure Needs Medical Treatment
If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, prescription medications can help. The most commonly used option works by tightening blood vessels, particularly the veins, which reduces blood pooling in the lower body and raises overall pressure. It’s typically taken two or three times a day, starting at a low dose that gets adjusted upward based on how your standing and lying blood pressure respond. Another medication helps your kidneys hold onto sodium, increasing blood volume over time.
Persistent symptoms like repeated fainting, confusion, blurred vision, or blood pressure readings that stay well below 90/60 despite the measures above are signs that something beyond simple lifestyle changes is needed. A sudden, sharp drop in blood pressure accompanied by chest pain, difficulty breathing, or loss of consciousness is a medical emergency.