Low blood pressure, generally defined as readings below 90/60 mmHg, can usually be managed effectively with lifestyle changes like increasing salt and fluid intake, wearing compression garments, and adjusting how you eat and move throughout the day. Most people with chronic low blood pressure don’t need medication. The strategies below work for the most common forms, including the type that causes dizziness when you stand up (orthostatic hypotension) and the type that hits after meals.
Drink More Water, Strategically
Water has a surprisingly powerful and fast effect on blood pressure. Drinking about 16 ounces (480 mL) of water raised seated blood pressure by 11 mmHg in older adults and by more than 40 mmHg in people with autonomic disorders, according to research published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. The effect starts within five minutes, peaks around 30 to 35 minutes, and lasts over an hour. Even half that amount (8 ounces) produces a measurable increase, though the larger volume works better.
This means you can time your water intake around moments when your blood pressure is most likely to drop. Drink a full glass about 15 to 30 minutes before standing up in the morning, before meals, or before any activity that tends to make you lightheaded. Spreading your fluid intake across the day matters more than hitting a single daily target, though most guidelines for orthostatic conditions suggest aiming for 2 to 3 liters total.
Increase Your Salt Intake
This is one of the first recommendations for people with low blood pressure, and it’s the opposite of what most public health messaging says. Salt helps your body retain fluid, which increases blood volume and raises blood pressure. The American Society of Hypertension recommends 6,000 to 10,000 mg of salt per day (roughly 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium) for people with orthostatic hypotension. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society suggests 10,000 mg of salt daily. For context, the average American consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium per day, so you may need to actively add salt beyond what you’re already eating.
Practical ways to do this include salting your food more liberally, eating salty snacks like olives, pickles, or broth, and using electrolyte drinks. One study found that adding about 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium per day for two months improved both standing tolerance and blood flow regulation in people who fainted from position changes. If you have heart or kidney disease, talk to your doctor before increasing salt, since the 2025 blood pressure guidelines note that sodium reduction may actually be harmful in people with severe orthostatic hypotension.
Use Physical Counter-Maneuvers
When you feel lightheaded or sense your blood pressure dropping, specific muscle-tensing techniques can push blood back toward your heart and brain within seconds. The American Heart Association recommends several of these:
- Leg crossing with muscle tensing: Cross your legs and squeeze your thigh, buttock, and abdominal muscles simultaneously. You can do this standing or lying down.
- Squatting: Lower yourself into a squat, tense your legs and abdomen, and stay there until symptoms pass. Stand up slowly afterward.
- Arm tensing: Hook your fingers together in front of your chest and pull your arms in opposite directions as hard as you can.
- Fist clenching: Squeeze your fist at maximum force, with or without holding an object.
These work because contracting large muscle groups squeezes blood out of your veins and toward your core. They’re especially useful when you feel a dizzy spell coming on in a situation where you can’t sit or lie down, like waiting in line or standing on public transit.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings and abdominal binders prevent blood from pooling in your legs and abdomen when you stand. Most specialists in autonomic disorders recommend waist-high compression 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 large portion of blood pools in the abdomen and upper thighs.
Abdominal binders work on the same principle and can be worn under clothing. Some people find them more tolerable than full-length stockings, especially in warm weather. Putting compression garments on before you get out of bed in the morning gives you the most benefit, since blood pooling begins the moment you stand.
Adjust How and What You Eat
Blood pressure commonly drops after meals because your body diverts blood to the digestive system. This is called postprandial hypotension, and it’s especially common in older adults. Two changes make the biggest difference: eating six smaller meals instead of three large ones, and keeping those meals low in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates cause a larger shift of blood to the gut than protein or fat does, so a big plate of pasta or bread is more likely to trigger a drop than a meal built around eggs, fish, or vegetables.
Timing your water intake before meals can also help counteract the post-meal dip, since the blood pressure boost from water peaks right around when the post-meal drop would normally begin.
Change How You Move
Many blood pressure drops happen during transitions: getting out of bed, standing up from a chair, or getting out of a hot shower. Slowing these transitions down gives your cardiovascular system time to adjust.
When getting out of bed, sit on the edge for 30 to 60 seconds before standing. Flex your feet and tense your calves while sitting to start pushing blood upward. When standing from a chair, rise slowly and grip something stable for a few seconds. Avoid standing motionless for long periods. If you have to stand in one place, shift your weight, rise onto your toes, and use the leg-crossing technique described above. Sleeping with the head of your bed elevated 10 to 15 degrees (using a wedge pillow or bed risers, not just extra pillows) can also help by training your body to tolerate more upright positions and reducing overnight fluid shifts.
Limit Alcohol
Alcohol dilates blood vessels and promotes dehydration, both of which lower blood pressure. Even moderate amounts can trigger symptoms in people already prone to hypotension. If you drink, doing so with food and extra water reduces the impact, but cutting back or eliminating alcohol is one of the most effective single changes you can make. Hot environments amplify alcohol’s blood-pressure-lowering effect, so be especially cautious in summer or around hot tubs and saunas.
When Lifestyle Changes Aren’t Enough
If these strategies don’t control your symptoms, medications are available. The most commonly prescribed option is a synthetic steroid that increases blood volume by helping your kidneys retain salt and water. It’s considered a first-line medication alongside the physical and dietary measures above. Another medication works by tightening blood vessels directly, which raises blood pressure. Both require monitoring because they can push blood pressure too high in certain positions, particularly when lying down.
Medication is typically added gradually. Your doctor will likely want to confirm you’ve tried the non-drug approaches first, since many people get adequate relief from salt, fluids, compression, and movement strategies alone. If your low blood pressure is caused by another medication you’re taking (common with blood pressure drugs, antidepressants, or prostate medications), adjusting the dose or timing of that drug often resolves the problem.
Signs of a Dangerous Drop
Chronic mild low blood pressure is usually more annoying than dangerous. But a sudden, severe drop can cause shock, which is a medical emergency. Call 911 if you or someone else develops confusion, cold and clammy skin, a noticeably pale appearance, rapid shallow breathing, or a weak and rapid pulse. These symptoms together suggest the body’s organs aren’t getting enough blood flow and need immediate treatment.