If your blood pressure regularly reads below 90/60 mmHg and you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or fatigued, there are several proven ways to bring it up. Low blood pressure, or hypotension, isn’t always a problem on its own, but when it causes symptoms like near-fainting, blurred vision, or persistent fatigue, raising it even modestly can make a real difference in how you feel day to day.
Increase Your Salt and Fluid Intake
Salt is the single most effective dietary tool for raising blood pressure, because sodium pulls water into your bloodstream and increases blood volume. For people with conditions like orthostatic hypotension (where blood pressure drops when you stand up) or POTS, medical guidelines recommend far more sodium than the average person consumes. The American Society of Hypertension suggests 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day for these patients, while the Heart Rhythm Society goes higher, recommending 4,000 to 4,800 mg daily for people with POTS. For context, the typical dietary guideline for healthy adults caps sodium at about 2,300 mg.
A practical way to increase your intake is to add 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to each of your three daily meals. You can do this through saltier foods, adding table salt, or using electrolyte tablets and drinks. Broth, pickles, olives, cheese, and salted nuts are all easy options. Pair this with plenty of water. Drinking a glass of water quickly (about 16 ounces in under five minutes) can produce a noticeable short-term rise in blood pressure, which is especially useful first thing in the morning or before standing up after a long period of sitting.
Use Physical Counterpressure Maneuvers
When you feel your blood pressure dropping in the moment, certain muscle-tensing techniques can buy you a quick boost. The American Heart Association recommends several of these:
- Leg crossing with tensing: Cross your legs and squeeze your leg, abdominal, and buttock muscles at the same time, whether lying down or standing.
- Squatting: Lower yourself into a squat, tense your lower body and abdominal muscles, and hold the position until symptoms ease before slowly standing back up.
- Isometric handgrip: Grip your hands together with interlocked fingers and pull in opposite directions as hard as you can. Alternatively, clench your fist tightly around a small object.
These maneuvers work by squeezing blood from your legs and abdomen back toward your heart and brain. They’re not a long-term fix, but they can prevent fainting episodes when you feel symptoms coming on.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings prevent blood from pooling in your legs, which is one of the main reasons blood pressure drops when you stand. 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, since a significant amount of blood pools in the thighs and abdomen. Abdominal compression binders can also help, either alone or combined with leg compression.
The stockings work best if you put them on before getting out of bed in the morning, before gravity has had a chance to pull blood downward.
Adjust How and When You Eat
Blood pressure commonly drops after meals, a condition called postprandial hypotension. Normally, your heart rate increases after eating and your blood vessels tighten to keep pressure stable while blood flows to your digestive system. When that compensation doesn’t happen properly, you can feel dizzy or faint within 30 to 90 minutes of a meal.
Eating six smaller meals throughout the day instead of three large ones reduces the amount of blood diverted to digestion at any given time. Cutting back on refined carbohydrates at meals also helps, since high-carb meals tend to cause the sharpest post-meal drops. Drinking water before or during meals can partially offset the effect as well.
Try Caffeine Strategically
Caffeine can raise systolic blood pressure by about 5 to 10 points, though this effect is strongest in people who don’t consume it regularly. If you already drink coffee daily, the boost will be smaller. A cup of coffee or tea before situations where you know your blood pressure tends to drop, like morning showers or long periods of standing, can provide a helpful buffer. The effect typically kicks in within 30 minutes and lasts one to two hours.
Elevate the Head of Your Bed
Sleeping with your head slightly raised, about 10 degrees or roughly 9 inches of elevation at the head of the bed, helps train your body’s blood pressure regulation overnight. This doesn’t mean propping yourself up with pillows, which mostly bends your neck and back. Instead, place blocks or a wedge under the head end of the bed frame so your entire body is on a gentle incline. Over time, this reduces the dramatic blood pressure swings that happen when you go from lying flat to standing in the morning.
Medications for Persistent Low Blood Pressure
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, several prescription medications can raise blood pressure. The most commonly used is midodrine, which works by tightening blood vessels. Fludrocortisone takes a different approach: it’s a synthetic hormone that causes your kidneys to retain more sodium, increasing blood volume while also making blood vessels more responsive to tightening signals. Both are taken daily, and your doctor will adjust the dose based on your response.
Other options exist for specific situations. Some medications work by increasing levels of norepinephrine, a chemical that raises blood pressure, while others improve nerve signaling to blood vessels. The right choice depends on what’s causing your low blood pressure and how your body responds.
Common Causes Worth Addressing
Before focusing purely on raising your numbers, it’s worth understanding why your blood pressure is low. Dehydration is the most common and easiest to fix. Certain medications, particularly those for high blood pressure, depression, or prostate issues, can lower blood pressure as a side effect. Prolonged bed rest deconditions your cardiovascular system and frequently causes blood pressure drops when you start moving again. Conditions like diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and various autonomic nervous system disorders can also impair your body’s ability to maintain pressure.
If your low blood pressure came on suddenly, is accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, or confusion, or produces readings well below your baseline, that’s a different situation from chronic mild hypotension. Sudden severe drops can signal blood loss, severe infection, or a heart problem that needs immediate attention.