Dizziness when lying down can be uncomfortable, keep you from getting enough sleep, and even pose a safety hazard.
If you’ve ever experienced dizziness when lying down, you know how disorienting it can be. You’re lying in bed, ready to fall asleep after a long day. You feel your best, but suddenly something goes wrong, you tilt your head a little, and then you feel lightheaded, a sudden wave of dizziness hits you, and the room feels like it’s spinning. You’re worried about why this is happening, so let’s find out what causes it.
So what causes it?
There are three common causes of dizziness when lying down:
1. BBPV and Orthostatic Vertigo
First, let’s tackle the most common cause of dizziness when lying down: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV.
This condition occurs when tiny gravity-sensing crystals in the inner ear accidentally move into the parts of the ear that detect head movement. This can lead to sudden, brief, intense episodes of vertigo, the kind that make you feel like the room is spinning around you.
Symptoms of vertigo associated with BPPV often occur when you lie down or roll over in bed. Although they are brief, typically lasting 10 to 20 seconds, these episodes of vertigo can be disorienting, frustrating, and even dangerous because they can cause you to accidentally roll or fall out of bed.
2. Head injury and vertigo
Have you been in a car accident or had a fall recently? A head injury could be the cause of your vertigo. If you have a traumatic brain injury such as a concussion, you may notice general balance problems, including dizziness. Head injuries can be treated with the help of a dizziness and balance specialist.
3. Meniere’s disease and vertigo
If you have dizziness when lying down, but it’s not due to BPPV or a head injury, you may have Meniere’s disease, an inner ear disorder that causes severe dizziness, ringing in the ears, hearing loss, and often a feeling of blockage in the ear. Meniere’s disease can cause sudden attacks of vertigo, which, like BPPV, can be severely disorienting. Although Meniere’s disease can develop at any age, it most often affects adults in their 40s and 60s.
How is vertigo treated when lying down?
If you have bothersome dizziness, see your doctor to find out what’s causing it and get treatment quickly.
- If your doctor diagnoses you with BPPV, there are two methods that can help relieve your symptoms. The first is the Epley maneuver, which involves gently tilting your head in a series of different directions, and the second is the Semont maneuver, which involves quickly turning your head from side to side.
- If your doctor suspects you have a head injury, you may need help from a concussion specialist.
- Finally, if your doctor suspects you have Ménière’s disease, they will likely develop a long-term plan to manage your symptoms in the short and long term.
