If your blood pressure is running low, you can raise it through a combination of increased fluid and salt intake, physical techniques, and lifestyle adjustments. Low blood pressure is generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, and even a drop of 20 points in your top number can cause dizziness or fainting. The strategies that work best depend on whether your low pressure is a chronic pattern or something that hits at specific times, like when you stand up or after meals.
Drink More Water, and Drink It Quickly
Water is one of the fastest ways to nudge your blood pressure upward. When you drink about two cups (480 mL) of water relatively quickly, your blood pressure starts rising within five minutes, peaks around 30 to 35 minutes later, and stays elevated for over an hour. This response is driven by your sympathetic nervous system reacting to the sudden expansion in blood volume.
Drinking half that amount (one cup) produces a smaller effect. So if you’re feeling lightheaded, drinking a full glass or two of water briskly is more effective than sipping slowly. Throughout the day, aim for consistent fluid intake rather than waiting until symptoms appear. Many people with chronically low blood pressure are mildly dehydrated without realizing it.
Increase Your Salt Intake
While most health advice tells people to cut back on sodium, the opposite applies when your blood pressure is too low. Salt helps your body retain water, which expands blood volume and raises pressure. Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic disorders (where blood pressure drops upon standing) recommend between 2,400 and 4,000 mg of sodium per day, with some experts suggesting up to 4,800 mg daily for more severe cases. For context, the average American consumes about 3,400 mg per day.
A practical approach is adding 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to your diet across three meals. One study found that about 2,400 mg of extra sodium per day for two months significantly improved standing tolerance, blood vessel function, and blood flow to the brain in people who were previously fainting from low pressure. You can boost sodium through salty snacks, broth, pickles, olives, or electrolyte drinks. Some people use salt tablets for convenience.
Use Physical Counterpressure Maneuvers
When you feel your blood pressure dropping, especially upon standing, certain body positions can act as a quick rescue. These work by squeezing blood out of your legs and abdomen back toward your heart and brain. The American Heart Association recommends several specific techniques:
- Cross your legs and squeeze. While standing or lying down, cross your legs and tense your leg, abdominal, and buttock muscles simultaneously.
- Squat down. Dropping into a squat pushes blood upward from your lower body. Tense your lower body muscles while squatting, then stand slowly once symptoms pass.
- Grip and pull. Hook your fingers together in front of your chest and pull your hands apart with maximum force. This creates whole-body tension that raises pressure.
- Clench your fists. Squeeze as hard as you can, with or without something in your hand.
These maneuvers are especially useful in the moment you feel dizzy or see dark spots. They buy your body time to adjust, and you can do them anywhere without drawing attention.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings prevent blood from pooling in your lower body, which is a major cause of low blood pressure when standing. Most experts recommend waist-high stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Waist-high is preferred over knee-high or thigh-high because blood pools throughout the entire lower half of your body, including your thighs and abdomen.
Knee-high stockings are better than nothing, but they can cause visible swelling just above the stocking line where blood accumulates. The same issue happens with thigh-high styles. If waist-high compression feels too uncomfortable to wear daily, shorter versions still provide partial benefit, just know they won’t address pooling above where they end.
Adjust How and What You Eat
Large meals, particularly carbohydrate-heavy ones, can pull blood toward your digestive system and drop your pressure significantly afterward. This is called postprandial hypotension, and it tends to hit hardest within one to two hours of eating. Two changes help prevent it: eat six smaller meals instead of three large ones, and keep individual meals lower in carbohydrates.
Pairing protein and fat with any carbs you eat slows digestion and reduces the blood pressure dip. If you notice your symptoms are worst after meals, that pattern is a strong clue that meal composition is a major lever for you.
Try Caffeine Strategically
Caffeine temporarily raises blood pressure by about 5 to 10 points in people who don’t drink it regularly. The effect kicks in within 30 minutes and can last up to two hours. A cup of coffee or strong tea before a time when you know your pressure tends to drop (like before standing for a long period or before a meal) can provide a helpful bump.
Regular caffeine drinkers build tolerance to this effect, so it works best if you use it selectively rather than consuming it all day. You can test your own sensitivity by checking your blood pressure before a caffeinated drink and again 30 to 120 minutes later.
Elevate the Head of Your Bed
Sleeping with your head slightly elevated, typically by raising the head end of your bed frame by 4 to 6 inches using blocks or risers, helps your body maintain better blood pressure regulation overnight. This gentle tilt trains your circulatory system to handle gravity more effectively, which translates to less dizziness when you get up in the morning. Propping yourself up with pillows alone doesn’t achieve the same effect because it bends at your waist rather than tilting your whole body.
Medications for Persistent Low Pressure
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, several prescription medications can raise blood pressure. One common option works by tightening blood vessels directly, which raises standing blood pressure and reduces lightheadedness. Another is a synthetic hormone that expands your blood volume and makes blood vessels more responsive to signals that constrict them. A third option enhances the nerve signaling that raises your blood pressure specifically when you stand, without pushing it too high when you’re lying down.
These medications are typically reserved for people whose low blood pressure significantly affects daily life, and they require monitoring because some can raise blood pressure too much in certain positions. Your provider will usually try the non-medication strategies first and add prescriptions if symptoms persist.
Warning Signs That Need Immediate Attention
Low blood pressure that causes occasional mild dizziness is common and manageable. But certain symptoms alongside low pressure suggest something more serious is happening: confusion, cold or clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, a weak and fast pulse, or bluish skin tone. These can indicate shock, where your organs aren’t getting enough blood flow. Fainting and not recovering quickly, or blood pressure that drops suddenly after an injury, infection, or allergic reaction, also warrants emergency care.