If your blood pressure is consistently at or below 90/60 mmHg and causing symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, or fainting, there are several practical ways to bring it up. Some work within minutes, others take days or weeks of consistent habit changes. The right approach depends on whether you need a quick fix for lightheadedness or a long-term strategy for chronic low blood pressure.
Drink More Water, Especially Before Standing
Dehydration is one of the most common and fixable causes of low blood pressure. When your blood volume drops, there’s simply less fluid pushing against your artery walls. Drinking 2 to 3 liters of water per day is the general recommendation for people with symptomatic low blood pressure.
For a more immediate effect, drinking about 500 mL (roughly 16 ounces) of water can measurably improve your ability to stand without getting dizzy, with benefits appearing within minutes. If you know you’ll be standing for a long time or heading into a hot environment, drink a full glass or two beforehand rather than sipping throughout.
Increase Your Salt Intake
For most people, the advice is to limit salt. But if you have chronically low blood pressure, salt is one of the most effective tools to raise it. Sodium pulls water into your bloodstream, expanding your blood volume and increasing pressure.
Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic hypotension (blood pressure that drops when you stand) recommend 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day, with some specialists going as high as 4,000 to 8,000 mg depending on severity. For context, the typical American diet contains around 3,400 mg. Practical ways to increase sodium include adding salt to meals, eating salty snacks like pickles or olives, drinking broth, or using electrolyte tablets. Some people add 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to each of their three daily meals through a combination of food choices and table salt.
One important caveat: increasing salt only helps if you’re also drinking enough water. Salt without adequate fluid can make you feel worse.
Use Physical Counterpressure Maneuvers
When you feel a dizzy spell coming on, certain body positions and muscle-tensing techniques can raise your blood pressure within seconds. The American Heart Association recommends these specific maneuvers:
- Leg crossing with muscle tensing: Cross your legs and squeeze your thigh, buttock, and abdominal muscles simultaneously. This works while standing or lying down.
- Squatting: Drop into a full squat, which forces blood from your legs back toward your heart. Tense your lower body and abdomen while squatting, then stand slowly once symptoms pass.
- Arm tensing: Grip your hands together, interlocking your fingers, and pull your arms in opposite directions as hard as you can.
- Isometric handgrip: Clench your fist as tightly as possible, with or without squeezing an object.
These aren’t long-term solutions, but they can prevent fainting in the moment. They work by compressing blood vessels and pushing blood back into central circulation.
Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals
Large meals can cause a significant drop in blood pressure, a condition called postprandial hypotension. After you eat, your body diverts blood to your digestive system. Normally, your heart rate increases and blood vessels elsewhere tighten to compensate. When that compensation fails, your blood pressure falls, sometimes enough to cause dizziness or fainting 30 to 90 minutes after a meal.
Eating six smaller meals instead of three large ones reduces the amount of blood your gut demands at any one time. Meals heavy in refined carbohydrates tend to cause the biggest drops, so combining carbs with protein and fat helps blunt the effect.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings prevent blood from pooling in your legs and abdomen, which is a major contributor to low blood pressure when standing. Most specialists recommend waist-high stockings rated at 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg of pressure. Waist-high garments are more effective than knee-high or thigh-high versions because blood pooling often happens throughout the lower body, including the thighs and abdomen. That said, knee-high stockings still provide some benefit if waist-high ones feel too uncomfortable to wear regularly.
Consider Licorice Root Carefully
Real licorice root (not the candy flavoring) contains a compound called glycyrrhizin that raises blood pressure by causing your kidneys to retain sodium and water. It does this by blocking an enzyme that normally keeps cortisol from overstimulating your kidneys. The result is a genuine, measurable increase in blood pressure.
The catch is that licorice is surprisingly potent. As little as 50 grams of real licorice daily can push blood pressure too high and cause potassium levels to drop dangerously. If you try licorice supplements or tea, start with small amounts and monitor your blood pressure. This is not a casual remedy to take in large quantities.
Medications for Persistent Low Blood Pressure
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, prescription medications can help. The two first-line options work by tightening blood vessels, which directly increases the pressure inside them. A third option works differently, helping your kidneys hold onto sodium so your blood volume expands over time.
These medications are typically tried only after salt, fluids, compression, and other non-drug strategies have fallen short. All of them can raise blood pressure too much while lying down, so they’re generally taken during the day and avoided close to bedtime. Your doctor will start at a low dose and adjust based on your symptoms and blood pressure readings.
Recognizing a Dangerous Drop
Most low blood pressure is annoying but not dangerous. However, a sudden, severe drop can lead to shock, which is a medical emergency. Warning signs include cold or clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, a weak and fast pulse, confusion (especially in older adults), and skin that looks noticeably pale. If you or someone near you shows these signs, call emergency services. This is different from the garden-variety lightheadedness that most people with low blood pressure experience when standing up too quickly.