BP NotebookWhy is my blood pressure higher in the morning?
If your morning readings are often higher than your evening ones, you are not alone. Blood pressure follows a daily rhythm, and a rise in the morning is part of it.
Blood pressure has a daily rhythm
In most people, blood pressure is lowest during sleep (often called the night-time "dip") and then rises when they wake up and get up. Researchers call this the morning surge. A review in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension describes the rise on getting up as usually around 10 to 30 mmHg for the top number and 7 to 23 mmHg for the bottom number, depending on the person and how it is measured. The same review notes the rise tends to be larger with age, alcohol and smoking.
So a morning reading that is a little higher than your evening reading is common. What matters to your doctor is the overall pattern across many days, not one morning on its own.
Other things that can push a morning reading up
Some everyday things can make any reading higher than usual, and several of them tend to happen in the morning:
- Taking the reading straight after getting up, before sitting quietly for 5 minutes.
- Coffee, tea, smoking or exercise in the 30 minutes before.
- A full bladder.
- Talking, or using your phone, while the cuff inflates.
The American Heart Association's advice for home readings covers all of these: avoid caffeine, smoking and exercise for 30 minutes, empty your bladder, rest quietly for 5 minutes, keep your arm supported at heart level, and stay still and quiet during the reading.
When should I take my blood pressure?
Take your readings at the same time each day so they can be compared. Many care teams ask for a morning reading and an evening reading; the UK's NICE guideline, for example, describes readings twice a day, ideally in the morning and evening, when a week of home readings is used to confirm a diagnosis. Follow your own doctor's instructions about timing, including whether to take your reading before or after your medicines.
When to talk to your doctor
Bring your log to your appointment and mention it if your morning readings are regularly much higher than your evening ones, or if your morning readings are in a higher category than usual. Your doctor can tell you whether your pattern needs any change in care. Don't change or stop a medicine because of your readings without talking to your health care professional first.
A very high reading? If a reading is above 180/120, the American Heart Association advises waiting at least 1 minute and taking it again. If it stays this high and you have chest pain, shortness of breath, back pain, numbness, weakness, vision changes or difficulty speaking, call your local emergency number now. Without these symptoms, contact your health care professional.
Log morning and evening readings
A simple way to see your own pattern is to write down a morning and an evening reading every day. Our free monthly blood pressure log has a morning and an evening column for each day. The BP Notebook app works out your morning and evening averages automatically and puts them in the PDF report for your doctor.
Sources
- Gosse P, Schumacher H. Early morning blood pressure surge. Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 2006; 8(8): 584–589.
- American Heart Association. Monitoring your blood pressure at home. Last reviewed August 14, 2025.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Hypertension in adults: diagnosis and management (NG136), recommendation 1.2.7.
Important
This page is general information, not medical advice. BP Notebook is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. Talk to your doctor before making medical decisions.
If you have a medical emergency, call your local emergency number now.