Why Do I Get Dizzy When I Stand Up?
Feeling lightheaded when you stand up is usually a brief drop in blood pressure. Learn the common causes, simple fixes, and the warning signs that mean you should see a doctor.
The short answer
Dizziness when you stand up is usually caused by a brief drop in blood pressure called orthostatic hypotension. Gravity pulls blood toward your legs, and your body takes a moment to push it back to your brain. Dehydration, some medicines, heat and aging make it more likely. Frequent episodes or fainting deserve a doctor's visit.
Key takeaways
- Dizziness on standing is usually caused by orthostatic hypotension, a brief drop in blood pressure when you get up.
- Orthostatic hypotension is defined as a fall of at least 20 points systolic or 10 points diastolic within three minutes of standing.
- Dehydration, heat, alcohol, large meals and prolonged bed rest are common everyday triggers.
- Blood pressure medicines, diuretics and some antidepressants can cause or worsen dizziness on standing.
- Older adults are most affected, and in them it is an important cause of falls.
- Standing up in stages, drinking enough fluids and flexing your leg muscles before rising can help prevent episodes.
- Dizziness with chest pain, one-sided weakness, trouble speaking or fainting during exercise needs a 911 call.
You get up from the couch or out of bed, and for a few seconds the room swims, your vision dims, and you reach for something to hold. Then it passes. Most people have felt this, and most of the time it is harmless.
That head rush has a name, and it usually has a simple explanation. This article covers why it happens, what makes it more likely, what you can do about it, and the signs that mean it needs a closer look. It can help you understand the pattern and decide what to do next. It cannot diagnose the cause in your case.
What happens in your body when you stand up?
When you stand up, gravity pulls blood down into your legs and belly, and for a moment less blood returns to your heart and reaches your brain. Normally your body corrects this within seconds, so you never notice.
Sensors in your neck and chest, called baroreceptors, detect the dip in pressure. They signal your nervous system to tighten blood vessels and speed up your heart slightly, pushing blood back up. When that response is slow or not strong enough, your brain briefly gets less blood flow, and you feel lightheaded.
Blood pressure control is one of the systems that ties much of physical health together, covered more broadly in our guide to physical health.
What is orthostatic hypotension?
Orthostatic hypotension, also called postural hypotension, is a drop in blood pressure that happens when you stand up from sitting or lying down. "Orthostatic" refers to standing upright, and "hypotension" means low blood pressure.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) describes it as a fall of at least 20 points in systolic pressure (the top number) or at least 10 points in diastolic pressure (the bottom number) within three minutes of standing. A doctor can check this by measuring your blood pressure lying down and then again after you stand.
It can be a one-off, such as after a hot shower, or an ongoing problem. If you want to understand what the two numbers in a reading mean, our explainer on how to read blood pressure numbers walks through them.
What does it feel like?
Dizziness on standing usually feels like lightheadedness, as if you might faint, rather than the spinning sensation of vertigo. It typically starts within seconds to a few minutes of getting up and eases when you sit or lie back down.
MedlinePlus lists symptoms of low blood pressure that may come with it:
- Lightheadedness or feeling faint
- Blurred, dimmed or "grayed out" vision
- Weakness or feeling unsteady
- Confusion or trouble thinking clearly
- Nausea
- Fainting, also called syncope (a brief loss of consciousness)
| Feeling | Lightheadedness | Vertigo |
|---|---|---|
| What it is like | Woozy, faint, vision dimming | You or the room seem to spin or tilt |
| Typical trigger | Standing up, heat, not eating or drinking | Turning your head, rolling over in bed |
| Common cause | Brief drop in blood flow to the brain | Inner ear problems |
| Eases when | You sit or lie down | Often after keeping your head still |
What causes dizziness when standing up?
The most common causes are things that lower the amount of fluid in your blood vessels or blunt your body's ability to tighten them. Often more than one is at work at the same time.
Everyday causes
- Dehydration: not drinking enough, sweating heavily, vomiting, diarrhea or fever all reduce blood volume.
- Heat: hot weather, hot tubs and long hot showers widen blood vessels.
- Standing up quickly: especially after lying down for a long time or first thing in the morning.
- Large meals: blood flows toward your gut after eating, and some people, especially older adults, get dizzy afterward.
- Alcohol: it dehydrates you and relaxes blood vessels.
- Prolonged bed rest: after illness or surgery, your body's reflexes take time to readjust.
Medicines
Many common medicines can cause or worsen orthostatic hypotension. These include drugs for high blood pressure, diuretics (water pills), some heart medicines, certain antidepressants, drugs for Parkinson's disease, medicines for an enlarged prostate, and erectile dysfunction drugs. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own; talk to your doctor or pharmacist, who may be able to adjust the dose or timing.
Health conditions
Some conditions affect blood volume or the nerves that control blood pressure. These include heart problems such as valve disease or a very slow heart rate, anemia, diabetes (which can damage nerves over time), Parkinson's disease and other nervous system disorders, and adrenal or thyroid problems. Pregnancy also commonly lowers blood pressure, especially in the first and second trimesters.
| Cause | Clues it might be this | What may help |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydration | Thirst, dark urine, recent illness or heat | Fluids, rest in a cool place |
| Medicine side effect | Started or changed a medicine recently | Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the dose or timing |
| After meals | Dizzy within an hour or two of eating | Smaller, lower-carbohydrate meals |
| Anemia | Tired, pale, short of breath | Blood test and treatment of the cause |
| Nerve or heart condition | Frequent episodes, fainting, other symptoms | Medical assessment |
Who is most likely to get dizzy on standing?
Older adults are the group most affected. NHLBI notes that orthostatic hypotension becomes more common with age, as the reflexes that control blood pressure slow down and more people take medicines that lower it. In older adults, it is also an important cause of falls.
Teenagers and young adults also get head rushes, especially if they are tall, growing quickly, not drinking enough, or standing for long periods. In some younger people, especially women, a condition called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), in which the heart rate climbs sharply on standing, causes dizziness, fatigue and a racing heart. Our article on what your resting heart rate means covers how heart rate normally behaves.
People who have naturally low blood pressure may notice it more, too. Low blood pressure without symptoms is usually not a problem, and our article on when low blood pressure is too low explains where the line sits.
What can you do to stop getting dizzy when you stand?
Simple changes often reduce or prevent dizziness on standing, especially when the cause is everyday dehydration or getting up too fast. These steps are based on advice from NHLBI and MedlinePlus.
- Stand up in stages: sit on the edge of the bed for a minute, then stand slowly, holding something steady.
- Drink enough fluids: especially in hot weather, during illness, and when exercising, unless your doctor has told you to limit fluids.
- Limit alcohol: it dehydrates you and relaxes blood vessels.
- Eat smaller meals: if you get dizzy after eating, smaller meals with fewer refined carbohydrates may help.
- Move your legs before standing: flexing your ankles or crossing your legs and squeezing your thigh muscles helps push blood back up.
- Avoid long hot showers and hot tubs: or sit down while you shower if heat sets you off.
- Ask about compression stockings: these can reduce pooling of blood in the legs for some people.
Some people with low blood pressure are advised to eat more salt, but that is only safe on a doctor's advice. Most Americans already eat more than the recommended limit of 2,300 mg of sodium a day, and extra salt can be harmful if you have high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease.
Fluids matter more than most people realize, but you do not need to force huge amounts. Our article on common hydration myths sorts out how much you actually need.
What should you do if you feel faint?
If you feel faint after standing, sit or lie down right away, ideally with your legs raised. That restores blood flow to your brain and reduces your risk of falling, which is often the most dangerous part of a dizzy spell.
Wait until you feel completely normal before getting up again, and then rise slowly. If you do faint, a person nearby should lay you flat and check that you are breathing. Most people come around within a minute.
When should you see a doctor or call 911?
See your doctor if you get dizzy on standing often, if it is getting worse, if it started after a new medicine, or if it makes you fall or nearly fall. Also make an appointment if you have fainted, even once, without an obvious reason such as heat or not eating. Your primary care provider can check lying and standing blood pressure, review your medicines and order tests if needed.
Call 911 or go to the emergency room if dizziness comes with any of these:
- Chest pain, pressure or a racing or irregular heartbeat
- Fainting with an injury, or fainting during exercise
- Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side
- Sudden trouble speaking, confusion, vision loss or a severe headache
- Severe shortness of breath
- Black or bloody stools, or vomiting blood, which can signal internal bleeding
The face, arm and speech signs above can mean a stroke. The CDC advises acting fast and calling 911 immediately, because every minute matters.
Before your appointment, it can help to keep a simple log for a week or two. Note when the dizziness happens, what you were doing just before, how long it lasted, what you had eaten and drunk, and which medicines you took that day. If you have a home blood pressure monitor, a reading taken while lying down and another after standing for a few minutes can give your doctor useful clues.
Most head rushes are brief and harmless, and a few simple habits keep them away. The pattern, not the single episode, is what tells you whether to get checked.
Common questions
- Is it normal to get dizzy when you stand up?
- Occasional brief dizziness when you stand up quickly is common and usually harmless. It happens when blood pressure dips for a moment before your body corrects it. If it happens often, lasts longer than a few seconds, makes you fall, or causes fainting, talk to your doctor to look for an underlying cause.
- Why do I black out for a few seconds when I stand up?
- Vision going dark or gray for a few seconds on standing usually means your brain is briefly getting less blood flow because blood pressure dropped. Sit or lie down until it passes. If you fully lose consciousness, fall, or it happens regularly, see a doctor, since fainting can sometimes signal a heart problem.
- Can dehydration make you dizzy when standing?
- Yes. Dehydration lowers the amount of fluid in your blood vessels, which makes your blood pressure more likely to drop when you stand. Hot weather, exercise, vomiting, diarrhea and fever all raise the risk. Drinking fluids and resting in a cool place often helps, unless your doctor has told you to limit fluids.
- Can low iron cause dizziness when standing?
- It can. Iron deficiency anemia means your blood carries less oxygen, which can cause dizziness, especially on standing or with activity, along with tiredness, pale skin and shortness of breath. A blood test can check for anemia. Talk to your doctor rather than taking iron supplements without testing first.
- Is dizziness when standing a sign of something serious?
- Usually it is not, but it can be. Frequent episodes, fainting, or dizziness along with chest pain, a racing heartbeat, one-sided weakness or trouble speaking need prompt attention. Call 911 for those warning signs. For ongoing dizziness without them, see your primary care provider for a blood pressure check and medicine review.
- How do you stop head rushes?
- To reduce head rushes, stand up slowly in stages, sit on the edge of the bed before rising, and flex your calf and thigh muscles first. Drink enough fluids, limit alcohol, avoid very hot showers and eat smaller meals. If head rushes persist, your doctor can check your blood pressure and medicines.
Sources
Published research and guidance this page draws on. Check the original where a detail matters to you.
- 1Low Blood PressureNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- 2Low Blood PressureMedlinePlus
- 3Dizziness and VertigoMedlinePlus
- 4FaintingMedlinePlus
- 5Low Blood Pressure: When Blood Pressure Is Too LowAmerican Heart Association
- 6Falls and Fractures in Older Adults: Causes and PreventionNational Institute on Aging
- 7Signs and Symptoms of StrokeCDC
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Speak with a qualified healthcare provider about your individual circumstances.
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