Waking up feeling dizzy can be a disorienting and scary experience. If you frequently wake up with dizziness, make an appointment with a doctor or Physical Therapist to assess the cause of your dizziness.
Dizziness falls into many categories. It can be described as imbalance, lightheadedness or wooziness, vertigo, and is also related to anxiety or fear. Vertigo is a unique type of dizziness that often feels like the room spinning around you. However, you may experience any of these forms of dizziness when you wake up.
Physical therapy is often an effective way to manage your dizziness symptoms, and to rule out any serious causes of dizziness. At FYZICAL, we are highly trained to determine the cause of your dizziness, and provide effective strategies to minimize your dizziness without the need for medications or surgical procedures.
What is the Cause of dizziness?
Dizziness is not a disorder, but rather a symptom that can be caused by many things. For people who are experiencing dizziness when they wake up, it may be due to issues with the circulatory system or it could be due to a problem within the inner ear. Some medications can also cause morning dizziness, as can the use of alcohol and recreational drugs. Even dehydration or low blood sugar can make you feel dizzy.
One of the most common cause of dizziness in the morning is something called BPPV.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, is a disorder of the inner ear’s peripheral vestibular system. When we move, crystals in the inner ear activate tiny hair cells that send information about our movements to the brain. The crystals are located in a different part of the inner ear, attached to a membrane. Age-related degeneration or head trauma can cause these crystals to become detached, and they activate hair cells at inappropriate times. This signals to the brain that we are moving even when we’re not.
If you regularly experience vertigo when waking up, you may have BPPV. People with BPPV often get vertigo when they roll over in bed or turn their head. BPPV can also affect just one ear, which usually causes dizziness only when you turn or roll to one side. BPPV-related vertigo usually lasts for 15-20 seconds, but BPPV can also cause lightheadedness, nausea and vomiting, nystagmus (rapid, involuntary eye movements), and fainting.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, make an appointment at Fyzical today.