Low blood pressure, or hypotension, is generally defined as a reading below 90/60 mmHg. If yours runs low and you’re experiencing symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting, there are several practical steps you can take to raise it and keep it stable. The right approach depends on whether your drops happen when you stand up, persist throughout the day, or signal something more serious.
Quick Physical Techniques That Raise Blood Pressure Fast
When you feel a sudden drop, certain body positions and muscle contractions can push blood back toward your heart and brain within seconds. The American Heart Association recommends several of these “counterpressure maneuvers” as first-line responses:
- Cross your legs and squeeze. While standing or lying down, cross your legs and tense your leg, abdominal, and buttock muscles simultaneously.
- Drop into a squat. Lowering your body into a squat pools less blood in your legs. Tense your lower body and abdomen while squatting, then stand slowly once symptoms pass.
- Grip and pull. Hook your fingers together in front of your chest and pull your arms in opposite directions with maximum force. This isometric tension raises blood pressure quickly.
- Clench your fists. Squeeze a fist as hard as you can, with or without something in your hand.
These aren’t just stopgaps. If you’re prone to sudden drops, practicing these maneuvers at the first sign of lightheadedness can prevent fainting. The simplest option of all: sit or lie down immediately when you feel symptoms coming on.
Drink More Water, and Drink It Strategically
Drinking about 500 mL (roughly 16 ounces) of water can measurably improve blood pressure within 15 minutes. A study published in Circulation found that this volume increased orthostatic tolerance in most healthy subjects and raised resting blood pressure through increased resistance in blood vessels. In people with severe autonomic dysfunction, the effect was even more pronounced.
This means timing matters. Drink a full glass of water before situations that tend to trigger your symptoms: standing for long periods, hot showers, exercise, or getting out of bed in the morning. Staying consistently hydrated throughout the day also helps maintain blood volume, which is one of the most common reasons blood pressure drops.
Increase Your Salt Intake
For most health conditions, salt restriction is the standard advice. Hypotension is the exception. Salt helps your body retain water, which increases blood volume and raises pressure. Medical guidelines for people with orthostatic disorders recommend significantly more sodium than the general population consumes.
The American Society of Hypertension suggests 2,400 to 4,000 mg of sodium per day for people with chronic low blood pressure. The Canadian Cardiovascular Society recommends around 4,000 mg daily. For conditions like POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), some expert consensus statements go as high as 4,000 to 4,800 mg per day. One study found that adding roughly 2,400 mg of supplemental sodium per day for two months improved both standing tolerance and blood flow regulation in people who were previously sodium-depleted.
A practical approach is to add 1,000 to 2,000 mg of sodium to your diet three times a day through salty foods, broth, or salt tablets. Your doctor can check a 24-hour urine sodium level to see whether your current intake is adequate. If it’s below about 3,900 mg, increasing salt is likely to help.
Wear Compression Stockings
Blood pooling in the legs is a major contributor to drops in blood pressure, especially when you stand. Waist-high compression stockings counteract this by squeezing blood back up toward your core. The key details: they should be waist-high (not knee-high, which doesn’t compress enough of the body), and most experts recommend a pressure rating of 20 to 30 mmHg or 30 to 40 mmHg. Wear them during the day, particularly before activities that provoke symptoms, and remove them at night when you’re lying flat.
These stockings are not the most comfortable garment, especially in warm weather. But for people whose blood pressure drops consistently on standing, they can make a noticeable difference in daily functioning.
Adjust How You Get Out of Bed
Orthostatic hypotension, the type that hits when you go from lying down to standing, affects a large percentage of people with low blood pressure. Your body needs a moment to shift blood upward against gravity, and if that reflex is sluggish, you’ll feel it as dizziness or blacking out.
Simple changes to your morning routine can help. Sit on the edge of the bed for 30 to 60 seconds before standing. Flex your ankles and tense your calves a few times while seated. Keep water on your nightstand and drink some before you get up. If you know that mornings are your worst time, elevating the head of your bed by a few inches (using blocks under the legs, not just pillows) can reduce the severity of the blood pressure shift when you do stand.
Medications for Persistent Symptoms
When lifestyle changes aren’t enough, medications can help. The most commonly prescribed drug for hypotension works by tightening blood vessels, directly raising blood pressure. It’s typically taken three times a day during waking hours, with the last dose no later than late afternoon to avoid raising pressure while you sleep. Another option is a medication that helps your body retain sodium and water, expanding blood volume over time.
These medications work best alongside the fluid, salt, and compression strategies described above. They’re not replacements for those basics.
Causes Worth Investigating
Low blood pressure isn’t always its own problem. It can be a symptom of something else: dehydration, blood loss, an underactive thyroid, adrenal insufficiency (where your adrenal glands don’t produce enough hormones), heart conditions, or medications you’re already taking. Blood pressure drugs, antidepressants, and medications for prostate issues are common culprits.
If your blood pressure has dropped recently or your symptoms are worsening, it’s worth looking at what changed. A new medication, an illness causing fluid loss, or a shift in diet can all be triggers. Identifying and treating the underlying cause sometimes resolves hypotension entirely.
Signs of a Dangerous Drop
Most low blood pressure is annoying but not dangerous. It becomes an emergency when it progresses toward shock. The warning signs are distinct from ordinary lightheadedness: confusion or difficulty thinking clearly, cold and clammy skin, rapid shallow breathing, a weak and fast pulse, and skin that looks pale or bluish. If you or someone near you shows these signs, that’s not a “drink some water” situation. It requires immediate emergency care.