Low blood pressure, generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, can cause dizziness, fatigue, and fainting. Raising it involves a combination of dietary changes, physical techniques, and lifestyle adjustments that work on different timescales, from seconds to weeks.
Increase Your Salt and Fluid Intake
Salt is the single most effective dietary lever for raising blood pressure. Sodium pulls water into your bloodstream, expanding blood volume and pushing pressure up. For people with orthostatic disorders (where blood pressure drops upon standing), expert guidelines from the Heart Rhythm Society and Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommend 4,000 to 4,800 mg of sodium per day, roughly double the amount most healthy adults are told to eat. One clinical approach is adding 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to each of three daily meals. In one study, patients who supplemented about 2,400 mg of sodium daily for two months showed improved blood pressure control upon standing and better blood flow to the brain.
Water has its own independent effect. Drinking about 16 ounces of water raised systolic blood pressure by an average of 11 mmHg in older adults within 30 to 35 minutes, according to research published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. In people with autonomic nervous system disorders, the spike was even larger, reaching 33 to 37 mmHg. Interestingly, this pressor response comes from activating the sympathetic nervous system, not from increasing blood volume directly. Younger, healthy adults showed little change, which suggests water drinking is most helpful for older people or those whose nervous system doesn’t regulate blood pressure well on its own.
Use Physical Counter-Pressure Maneuvers
When you feel lightheaded or sense your blood pressure dropping, specific muscle contractions can raise it within seconds. These work by compressing blood vessels and forcing blood back toward your heart. The American Heart Association recognizes these techniques for preventing fainting episodes caused by blood pressure drops.
Lower-body maneuvers are the most effective. Cross your legs while standing and tense your thigh, buttock, and abdominal muscles simultaneously. If you’re able, drop into a squat, which compresses the large blood vessels in your legs and core. Once symptoms ease, stand slowly while keeping those muscles engaged.
Upper-body maneuvers offer a subtler boost. Grip your hands together and pull your arms in opposite directions as hard as you can. Alternatively, clench your fist at maximum force, or press your chin to your chest while tightening your neck muscles. These are useful in situations where squatting would be impractical, like standing in a checkout line. Overall, lower-body techniques produce a larger blood pressure increase and are better at preventing fainting than upper-body ones.
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. Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends starting with 20 to 30 mmHg compression, which provides firm support without being too difficult to pull on. If that feels insufficient, 30 to 40 mmHg stockings offer stronger compression but can be tough to get on, especially for people with flexible joints. If even the 20 to 30 range feels too tight, 15 to 20 mmHg is a lighter option. Waist-high stockings or abdominal binders tend to work better than knee-high socks because they cover more vascular territory.
Adjust How and When You Eat
Large meals can trigger a blood pressure drop called postprandial hypotension. After eating, your body redirects blood toward your digestive system. Normally, your heart rate increases and other blood vessels tighten to compensate. When that compensation fails, pressure falls, sometimes enough to cause dizziness or fainting 15 to 90 minutes after a meal.
Eating six smaller meals instead of three large ones reduces the demand on your circulatory system at any one time. Meals heavy in refined carbohydrates tend to cause the sharpest drops because they trigger a larger digestive blood flow response. Pairing carbohydrates with protein, fat, or fiber slows digestion and blunts the effect.
Caffeine as a Short-Term Boost
Caffeine raises blood pressure by roughly 5 to 10 mmHg in people who don’t drink it regularly. The effect peaks somewhere between 30 and 120 minutes after consumption. If you already drink coffee daily, your body adapts and the boost shrinks considerably. Some people with chronic low blood pressure find that a cup of coffee before situations that trigger symptoms (like standing for long periods) provides a useful buffer. The trade-off is that caffeine is a mild diuretic, so pairing it with extra water helps avoid working against your hydration efforts.
Check for Nutritional Deficiencies
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause low blood pressure by damaging the autonomic nervous system, the part of your nervous system that controls blood vessel tightening and heart rate adjustments. When B12 levels are low, sympathetic nerve activation becomes impaired, meaning your body can’t properly constrict blood vessels when you stand up. This is a correctable cause of hypotension that’s worth testing for, particularly if you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, are over 60, or have digestive conditions that impair nutrient absorption. Folate deficiency can also reduce red blood cell production, leading to anemia and lower blood pressure through reduced blood volume.
When Lifestyle Changes Aren’t Enough
If dietary and behavioral strategies don’t resolve symptoms, prescription medications can raise blood pressure more reliably. The main options work through two mechanisms: tightening blood vessels or expanding blood volume. Your doctor may also review your current medications, since blood pressure drugs, certain antidepressants, and prostate medications are common culprits behind low readings. Sometimes the fix is as simple as adjusting the dose or timing of a medication you’re already taking.
Elevating the head of your bed by 4 to 6 inches can also help. Sleeping at a slight incline reduces the amount of fluid your kidneys filter overnight, so you start the morning with more blood volume. This is particularly useful for people whose worst symptoms hit first thing in the morning.