Low blood pressure, defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg, often responds well to simple lifestyle changes like increasing your salt and fluid intake, wearing compression garments, and adjusting how you eat and move throughout the day. Many people with mild symptoms can raise their blood pressure enough to feel noticeably better without medication. A drop of just 20 mmHg, say from 110 to 90 systolic, can be enough to cause dizziness or fainting, so even small improvements matter.
Drink More Water, and Drink It Strategically
Increasing your daily fluid intake is one of the simplest and most effective ways to raise blood pressure. The goal is roughly 2 to 2.5 liters per day (about 8 to 10 cups). More fluid in your system means more blood volume, which directly supports blood pressure.
There’s also a useful trick for moments when you feel symptoms coming on. Drinking about 16 ounces (500 mL) of water quickly, as a single bolus rather than sipping, produces a noticeable spike in blood pressure. This rapid-drinking approach is especially helpful before situations that tend to trigger symptoms, like standing for long periods or getting out of bed in the morning.
Increase Your Salt Intake
While most health advice tells people to cut sodium, the opposite applies when your blood pressure runs too low. Salt helps your body retain water, expanding blood volume and raising pressure. Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic disorders (blood pressure drops upon standing) recommend 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day, with some specialists recommending up to 4,800 mg for people with significant symptoms.
For context, the average American consumes about 3,400 mg of sodium daily, so you may only need a modest increase. Practical ways to add sodium include salting food more liberally, eating salty snacks like pickles or olives, or using sodium supplement tablets. If you’re unsure whether you’re getting enough, a 24-hour urine sodium test can give your doctor a clear picture.
Adjust Your Meals to Prevent Post-Eating Drops
Blood pressure naturally dips after meals because your body diverts blood to the digestive system. For people who already run low, this can cause lightheadedness, fatigue, or even fainting after eating. This is called postprandial hypotension, and it’s particularly common in older adults.
Two dietary shifts help prevent it. First, eat six smaller meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. Smaller meals require less blood flow to the gut. Second, reduce carbohydrates at each meal. High-carb meals cause a bigger post-meal blood pressure drop than meals centered on protein and fat. If you know a particular meal will be carb-heavy, eating slowly and staying seated afterward gives your body time to adjust.
Use Compression Garments
Compression socks or stockings gently squeeze your lower legs, preventing blood from pooling in your veins and pushing more of it back toward your heart. They typically raise blood pressure by about 5 to 10 mmHg, which can be enough to eliminate symptoms for people with mild hypotension. Waist-high compression garments or abdominal binders offer even more benefit because they also compress the large veins in your abdomen and thighs, where significant pooling occurs.
Put them on before you get out of bed in the morning, since that’s when blood pressure tends to be lowest. If you only wear knee-high socks, you’ll get some benefit, but thigh-high or full-length stockings are more effective for blood pressure specifically.
Physical Counter-Maneuvers That Work Fast
When you feel a dizzy spell coming on, specific muscle-tensing movements can raise your systolic blood pressure by about 15 mmHg within seconds. These work by squeezing the veins in your legs and core, pushing pooled blood back into circulation. A meta-analysis found that roughly 72% of patients who used these techniques in daily life experienced symptom improvement.
The most effective maneuvers include:
- Leg crossing with tensing: Cross your legs at the ankles while squeezing your thigh and calf muscles together.
- Squatting: Drop into a squat, which compresses the veins in your legs and immediately boosts blood return to the heart. This is the most powerful option if you feel like you might faint.
- Hand gripping: Squeeze a ball or make a tight fist repeatedly for 30 seconds or more.
- Calf raises or marching in place: Activating your calf muscles pumps blood upward past one-way valves in your veins.
One thing to avoid during these movements: holding your breath and bearing down (the Valsalva maneuver). That straining actually increases pressure in your chest and reduces blood flow back to your heart, making things worse.
Change How You Get Out of Bed
Many people with low blood pressure feel worst first thing in the morning. Gravity pulls blood downward the moment you stand, and after lying flat all night, your body may be slow to compensate. A simple routine helps: sit on the edge of the bed for a minute or two before standing. Flex your ankles and tense your legs while sitting. Then stand up slowly, holding onto something sturdy. Drinking that 16-ounce glass of water before getting vertical can also prime your circulation.
Elevating the head of your bed by 10 to 20 degrees (using a wedge pillow or bed risers) reduces the sudden shift your body has to manage when you go from lying to standing. Sleeping at a slight incline trains your body to retain a bit more fluid overnight.
When Lifestyle Changes Aren’t Enough
If dietary adjustments, compression, and counter-maneuvers don’t control your symptoms, medication is an option. The two most commonly prescribed drugs for chronic low blood pressure work differently. One helps your kidneys retain more sodium and water, expanding your blood volume over time. The other directly tightens your blood vessels to raise pressure. Both are typically started at low doses and adjusted based on how you respond. These medications come with trade-offs, including fluid retention and the possibility of raising blood pressure too much when lying down, so they’re generally reserved for people who remain symptomatic despite trying non-drug approaches first.
Signs That Need Immediate Attention
Most low blood pressure is more annoying than dangerous. But a sudden, steep drop can lead to shock, which is a medical emergency. Warning signs include confusion (especially in older adults), cold or clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, a weak and fast pulse, and skin that looks noticeably pale. These symptoms in combination suggest your organs aren’t getting enough blood flow, and you should call emergency services. Sudden severe drops are usually triggered by something acute: significant bleeding, a serious infection, or a severe allergic reaction, not the chronic low blood pressure most people are searching about.