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For years, I failed to take my BP measurements correctly. I thought I was doing it right but my BP readings would always be higher than they should be and all over the place. So figured I'd make a post for anyone it might help, as it's not as simple/straightforward as it seems, and there are a lot of little things that can cause inaccurate readings.

I always heard, put your feet flat on the ground, sit up straight, and don't move or talk, and sit for about 5 minutes before taking a reading. But I always missed some vital information... The center of the blood pressure cuff should be at heart level and your palm should be facing up. If you have an arm cuff and just leave your arm resting at your side, the cuff is going to be too low and give you a falsely high reading. So, make sure you have your arm elevated (resting on a pillow or table or something—don't try to hold your arm up; it needs to be resting) to where the cuff is at heart level, your palm is up (this allows muscles to relax in your arm, giving you a more accurate and lower reading). Try not to go too high when elevating your arm as it will make the reading falsely low. You want it at heart level; this is vitally important for consistently accurate readings.

You should sit for at least 5 minutes, not talking, and just relax before taking a reading. You should take about 3 readings and wait 5 or 10 minutes between each reading to get an idea of the average.

Make sure the cuff isn't against anything (like resting directly against your body) or laying on anything; it will give you a falsely high reading.

Don't wear tight pants or tight clothes; they will cause you to have a higher reading.

Don't let your feet hang/dangle, and don't sit in a chair where the seat bottom is cutting into the back of your legs, like an office chair with a seat that leans back—it will cause a higher reading.

Don't take a reading while you need to use the bathroom; holding it causes you to have a falsely high reading.

Don't take a reading if you are stressed or angered unless you want to see how high it gets in those scenarios.

Readings when you are sleep deprived will be significantly higher.

Taking a reading shortly after a warm or hot shower/bath can cause a false reading (higher or lower depending on how warm/hot it is).

Don't take a reading after you've been doing any strenuous physical activity like exercise; best to wait a couple of hours unless you're just curious how physical activity affects your BP reading.

It's probably worth noting that a doctor's office will almost never take a reading properly, and you will almost certainly have a higher reading. They march you back to the room, take your weight, sit you down and slap a blood pressure cuff on you immediately, usually don't elevate your arm so the cuff is heart level, don't let you relax for an accurate baseline, etc. So you probably don't want to learn based on that or take the readings you get in a doctor's office too seriously, especially if they don't even seem concerned.

The absolute best time to take a reading to learn your baseline is early morning after you've woken up and haven't had anything to eat or drink.