If your blood pressure runs low (below 90/60 mmHg), several straightforward changes to how you eat, drink, and move can help bring it up. Most strategies work by increasing your blood volume, preventing blood from pooling in your legs, or helping your blood vessels tighten more effectively. Here’s what actually works.
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 (feeling dizzy or faint when standing), medical guidelines from the American Society of Hypertension recommend 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day, which is notably higher than the 2,300 mg ceiling advised for the general population. Some specialists recommend even more, up to 4,800 mg daily, depending on the severity of symptoms.
A practical way to get there: add 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to your diet three times a day through salty snacks, broth, pickles, olives, or salt tablets. One study found that adding roughly 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium per day for two months improved both blood pressure upon standing and blood flow to the brain in people who were prone to fainting.
Salt only works if you’re also drinking enough water. Aim for 2 to 2.5 liters of fluid per day (roughly 8 to 10 cups) to offset normal urinary losses and keep your blood volume adequate. Dehydration makes every other strategy less effective.
Eat Smaller, Lower-Carb Meals
Large meals, especially carbohydrate-heavy ones, can cause your blood pressure to drop sharply after eating. This is called postprandial hypotension, and it happens because digestion diverts a large volume of blood to your gut. The bigger the meal, the bigger the diversion.
Switching from three large meals to six smaller ones throughout the day reduces the amount of blood redirected at any one time. Keeping those meals lower in refined carbohydrates (white bread, pasta, sugary foods) also helps, since carbs trigger a stronger digestive blood flow response than protein or fat do.
Move Slowly When Changing Position
A drop of just 20 mmHg in systolic pressure, say from 110 to 90, can make you dizzy or faint. That kind of drop commonly happens when you go from lying down to standing too quickly, because gravity pulls blood into your legs before your body can compensate.
Build a transition routine: when getting out of bed, sit on the edge for a full minute before standing. While still lying down, stretch and flex your calf muscles to start pushing blood upward. Once upright, if you feel lightheaded, squeeze your thigh muscles, tighten your abdomen and glutes, rise onto your tiptoes, or march in place. These movements act as a manual pump that forces blood back toward your heart and brain.
Use Counterpressure Maneuvers
When you feel a blood pressure drop coming on, specific muscle-tensing techniques can buy you time by temporarily raising your pressure. Three that work well:
- Arm tensing: Grip one hand with the other and pull them apart without letting go. Hold as long as you can or until symptoms pass.
- Leg crossing: Cross one leg over the other and squeeze the muscles in your legs, abdomen, and buttocks simultaneously.
- Hand grip: Squeeze a rubber ball (or any firm object) in your dominant hand and hold the squeeze until symptoms ease.
These work because sustained muscle contraction compresses blood vessels and pushes blood centrally, temporarily raising the pressure your heart has available to send to your brain.
Wear Compression Garments
Compression stockings prevent blood from pooling in your legs when you stand. For low blood pressure, 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 binders can also help if full-length stockings aren’t practical.
The key is wearing them before you stand, ideally putting them on while still in bed in the morning. Pulling them on after you’ve already been upright for a while means blood has already shifted downward.
Avoid Alcohol and Excessive Heat
Alcohol impairs your blood vessels’ ability to tighten when you stand, which is the exact reflex your body relies on to maintain blood pressure against gravity. Research published in Circulation found that after alcohol consumption, the drop in systolic blood pressure during positional stress was double what it was after a placebo (14 mmHg versus 7 mmHg). This effect is likely dose-dependent, meaning more alcohol leads to a bigger drop. If you already run low, even moderate drinking can push you into symptomatic territory.
Hot environments, including hot showers, saunas, and humid weather, cause blood vessels to dilate near the skin’s surface for cooling. This pulls blood away from your core and lowers pressure. Keep showers warm rather than hot, and if you’re heat-sensitive, consider a shower chair to avoid standing in steam.
When Lifestyle Changes Aren’t Enough
If salt, fluids, compression, and positioning adjustments don’t resolve your symptoms, medications can help. One commonly prescribed option works by increasing blood volume through sodium retention. Another works by narrowing blood vessels so they hold pressure more effectively when you stand. Both are specifically used for orthostatic hypotension and require a prescription.
Low blood pressure that causes confusion, cold or clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, or a weak and rapid pulse is a medical emergency. These are signs of shock, meaning your organs aren’t getting enough blood flow, and that situation requires immediate treatment.