Getting dizzy every time you stand up is not normal, and medical experts say you should see your doctor to find out why.
When you stand, gravity pulls blood toward your lower body. Your nervous system normally responds quickly to maintain blood flow to your brain. If that adjustment does not happen efficiently, you can feel lightheaded, see spots, or feel as though you are about to faint, explains Dr. Motisola Lewis, MD, an internal medicine physician and founder of Lewis Medical NY.
For women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, the most common causes are dehydration, low blood pressure, anemia, blood loss, and medication side effects. Lewis also considers heavy menstrual bleeding, hormonal transitions, and medications that affect blood pressure or heart rate in this age group. Sometimes more than one factor contributes to the dizziness.
Dr. Kim Bell, a doctor of physical therapy who specializes in dizziness and vertigo, notes that lightheadedness or feeling faint suggests blood pressure issues, especially orthostatic hypotension, which is a drop in blood pressure when standing. A brief spinning sensation when getting up could indicate benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, the most common inner ear cause of vertigo.
Before your doctor's appointment, track what the dizziness feels like, what movement triggers it, and how long it lasts for a week or two, Bell recommends. These details provide important clues about the cause.
If it happens once, dehydration may explain it. If it happens frequently, that is not normal. Bell cautions against assuming your height, age, stress, or standing up too fast explains recurring dizziness without investigating the cause. Lewis adds that many women normalize their symptoms because they have been told what they experience is just stress or aging. But if you are consistently dizzy when standing, exhausted despite sleeping, experiencing a racing heart, or struggling to function the way you used to, it is worth asking why.
Seek immediate emergency care if you experience new neurological symptoms including sudden weakness or numbness on one side, confusion, double vision, difficulty speaking, or a sudden severe headache.
You may have heard about POTS, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, an autonomic nervous system disorder that causes your heart to beat faster when you stand. Studies show experts are diagnosing more people with POTS worldwide, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing the condition in previously healthy people. However, Lewis says POTS is not the most common explanation for dizziness upon standing in this age group.
Lewis emphasizes that dizziness usually points to something simple and treatable. If anything is interfering with how you feel or function, you deserve a thoughtful evaluation from your healthcare provider.