How to Overcome Dizziness

Dizziness is a general term that describes various symptoms like lightheadedness, nausea, imbalance, and the sensation of fainting. If you feel like both yourself and your surroundings are spinning, this is more accurately described as vertigo. Though common and unpleasant, dizziness is typically not life-threatening. There are many ways to manage dizziness at home. However, it's important to recognize "red flags" that indicate when medical intervention is necessary.

Reduce stress and anxiety. High levels of stress can alter breathing patterns and hormone levels, leading to dizziness or feelings of lightheadedness and nausea. Certain anxiety disorders, such as panic attacks or phobias, can also cause dizziness. If you experience these symptoms, try to minimize stress and anxiety in your life by expressing your feelings and working through conflicts in your relationships. Reducing psychological strain can help you better manage this condition.

• Sometimes strategies like changing tasks, reducing work hours, adjusting your schedule, or working from home more often can help alleviate stress and anxiety.
• Natural stress-relief methods like meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, and deep breathing exercises can be practiced at home. Watching instructional videos online before starting might be helpful.

Drink plenty of water. Acute or chronic dehydration is a common cause of dizziness, especially the feeling of lightheadedness. When your body is dehydrated — due to vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or not drinking enough water on a hot day — your blood becomes thicker and the brain doesn't receive enough oxygen, leading to dizziness. Furthermore, dehydration can cause overheating (hyperthermia), another common trigger of dizziness. If you find yourself in this situation, make sure to drink more water, particularly on hot, humid days, to alleviate the dizziness.

• Aim for 8 large glasses of water daily (about 2 liters), especially if you're engaging in strenuous activities or are outdoors in the heat.
• Avoid alcoholic drinks and caffeinated beverages like coffee, black tea, soda, and energy drinks. Alcohol and caffeine are diuretics, which means they increase urine production and can lead to further dehydration.

Eat easily digestible foods. Low blood sugar is another common cause of dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches, and drowsiness. Hypoglycemia is frequently seen in diabetics, those who take too much insulin, or individuals who skip breakfast and are too busy to eat throughout the day. The brain requires a certain amount of glucose in the blood to function properly. If this is the issue, consider adjusting your insulin intake (with your doctor's permission) if you're diabetic, or opt for foods that are easy for your stomach and intestines to digest and monitor the effects. Dizziness caused by hypoglycemia is often accompanied by sweating and confusion.

• Fresh, sweet fruits (especially blueberries and ripe bananas), fruit juices (like grape or sweet apple juice), white bread, ice cream, and honey are great options to quickly raise blood sugar levels.
• On the other hand, consistently high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia) can also cause dizziness through dehydration and excess acidity. Chronic hyperglycemia is often seen in undiagnosed or untreated diabetics.

Stand up slowly. Orthostatic hypotension, or a drop in blood pressure when standing up, is one of the most common causes of short-term dizziness, especially among older adults. This occurs when people with relatively low blood pressure (particularly the systolic blood pressure) stand up too quickly from a seated or lying position. When you stand quickly, your arteries cannot generate enough pressure to pump blood to the brain, and as a result, the brain is deprived of oxygen for a few seconds, leading to temporary dizziness or a feeling of faintness. If this sounds familiar, try standing up slowly and use nearby objects for support to maintain your balance.

• If you’re lying down, take a moment to sit up before standing.
• Chronic low blood pressure can be a result of taking excessive blood pressure medication, muscle relaxants, or vasodilators like Viagra and similar medications used to treat erectile dysfunction.
• Peripheral neuropathy, dehydration, and various medications can also contribute to low blood pressure.

Get more sleep. Not getting enough sleep, both in terms of quantity and quality, can be another underlying cause of dizziness, brain fog, and overall balance issues. Chronic insomnia is often linked to high stress, hypertension, depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, all of which can contribute to dizziness. Interrupted sleep may be associated with chronic anxiety, emotional trauma, chronic pain, caffeine use, drug abuse, restless legs syndrome, and other issues such as sleep apnea or heavy snoring. In this case, turn off the TV and computer, get to bed earlier, and avoid caffeinated drinks (coffee, black tea, soda) for at least 8 hours before bedtime.

• Staying up late on weekends is fine and may help you rest and/or experience less dizziness, but you cannot "catch up" on sleep deficits during the week.
• Natural sleep aids, such as chamomile tea, valerian root extract, magnesium (which relaxes muscles), and melatonin (a hormone that regulates sleep and the circadian rhythm), can be used right before bedtime.

Avoid head injuries. Head trauma from car accidents and contact sports is a common cause of brain injuries, ranging from mild to moderate, often referred to as concussions. The main symptoms of a concussion include dizziness along with a dull headache, nausea, brain fog, and ringing in the ears. Head injuries tend to accumulate over time, meaning that each injury can worsen the condition, adding up as time passes. Therefore, try to minimize the risk of accidents or injuries that could lead to the "ringing" sensation.

• Sports such as boxing, football, rugby, and ice hockey have particularly high risks of head injuries.
• Always wear your seatbelt when driving (to prevent serious neck injuries) and avoid activities that involve sudden jerks to the head and neck, such as trampoline jumping, bungee jumping, or rollercoaster rides.

Ask your doctor about the side effects and interactions of your medications. In reality, most medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) list dizziness as one of their side effects. However, this symptom is particularly common with certain types of medications. Specifically, blood pressure medications, diuretics, sedatives, antidepressants, strong painkillers, and some antibiotics are likely to cause dizziness. However, consult your doctor to see if any of the medications you are taking could be the culprit behind your dizziness.

• Never stop taking medications "cold turkey" without medical supervision, even if you believe they are the cause of your dizziness. Gradually reduce your dosage and/or switch to a similar medication as advised by your doctor.
• Due to the complexity of chemical interactions in the body, predicting interactions between three or more drugs is practically impossible.

Consult your doctor about flu symptoms. The main culprits behind the flu are respiratory viruses. As such, most flu symptoms are related to the lungs, throat, sinuses, and inner ear. In this case, the accumulation of mucus and other fluids can block the airways and/or inner ear, leading to dizziness and imbalance. If this is the case for you, simply wait a few days for the illness to pass, stay hydrated, and gently clear your sinuses by blowing your nose or rinsing with warm saline.

• Pinching your nose and blowing gently is one way to clear a narrow Eustachian tube that connects the throat to the middle ear. The Eustachian tube maintains pressure balance on both sides of the eardrum, and dizziness or poor balance is often the result of a blockage in this area.
• Other conditions that can cause dizziness include allergies, migraines, and anemia (low red blood cell count).

Check your blood pressure. As mentioned, both low blood pressure (hypotension) and high blood pressure (hypertension) can cause dizziness. Therefore, it's important to have your blood pressure checked by a doctor. Generally, blood pressure should be under 120 (systolic) and over 80 (diastolic). Of the two, high blood pressure is more dangerous and may sometimes indicate heart disease. In fact, serious heart conditions such as cardiomyopathy (diseased heart muscle), congestive heart failure, and arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms) are causes of hypertension and significantly increase the risk of chronic and recurrent dizziness.

• If you experience a heart attack or a mild stroke, less blood will flow to the brain, causing dizziness along with other symptoms. Your doctor may perform an electrocardiogram (ECG) to rule out the possibility of a heart attack.
• Unfortunately, antihypertensive medications are a common cause of dizziness.

Blood sugar testing. As previously mentioned, both low and high blood sugar can lead to dizziness. If you have diabetes and experience hypoglycemia, your doctor may adjust your insulin dosage. High blood sugar can indicate the presence of diabetes. Your doctor might recommend a blood sugar test, which measures glucose levels — the primary energy source for the brain and most other cells in the body. Normal levels typically range from 70-100 mg/dL.

• You can purchase a blood glucose monitor, a device that requires a small blood sample from your fingertip, at most pharmacies. Generally, if you haven't fasted, the reading should be under 125 mg/dL.
• Consuming large amounts of refined sugar can also temporarily raise blood sugar (commonly known as a sugar rush), leading to dizziness.

Ear examination. If your condition significantly affects your daily activities and gives you the sensation that everything is spinning, it's likely you're experiencing vertigo. This could be benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), an inner ear infection (labyrinthitis), or Meniere's disease (fluid retention in the inner ear). Here, dizziness results from changes in the balance system within the inner ear (the vestibular system) or its connection to the brain. Essentially, when you're still, the vestibular system mistakenly perceives movement, triggering a spinning sensation. In most cases, however, the dizziness resolves on its own as your body adjusts to the underlying cause.

• Benign positional vertigo is typically caused by debris in the inner ear that stimulates the semicircular canals.
• In some cases, dizziness can become severe enough to cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, and balance issues for hours at a time.

Consult a chiropractor or spinal specialist. These professionals specialize in the spine, ensuring its proper function and movement, particularly in the small joints connecting the vertebrae. A common cause of both dizziness and vertigo is a misalignment or dysfunction in the upper cervical joints, particularly where the spine meets the skull. Chiropractic adjustments, also known as spinal manipulations, can be used to relieve joint misalignment or reposition slightly displaced vertebrae. Often, you may hear a "pop" when an adjustment is made.

• While sometimes dizziness or vertigo can be completely resolved with just one adjustment (if related to upper neck issues), it often takes 3-5 sessions to see significant improvement.
• Arthritis in the upper neck, especially rheumatoid arthritis, can lead to chronic dizziness episodes.

• Elderly individuals are more prone to conditions that cause dizziness and often take medications that can exacerbate the problem.
• Avoid driving or operating heavy machinery if you frequently experience dizziness or a lightheaded feeling.
• If you suffer from dizziness, steer clear of caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco, as they can worsen your condition.
• If dizziness causes nausea, keep a bucket or similar item nearby in case you need to vomit.
• Practice yoga, especially poses where the head is placed lower than the floor. Increased blood flow to the brain can relieve dizziness, especially if poor circulation or low blood pressure is the underlying cause.
• If you feel slightly dizzy, avoid looking at screens.

• If you experience severe dizziness (leading to significant vision loss, vomiting, or fainting), seek immediate medical attention.
• Consult your doctor if dizziness episodes occur more frequently than usual, as this may indicate a serious cardiovascular issue.