Waking Up Dizzy

Dizziness is defined as a sensation of fainting, lightheadedness, imbalance, vertigo, and or unsteadiness.

Dizziness is a non-specific symptom and can occur due to varied reasons. Hence, ‘waking up dizzy,’ especially if no medications are taken before sleeping, needs to be checked by a doctor for underlying causes and relevant treatment.

If dizziness after waking up occurs along with symptoms like high fever, blurred vision, hearing problems, loss of consciousness, speech problems, mobilization problems, weakness of arms and legs, neck stiffness, irregular pulse, and/or chest pain, then patients need to seek emergency medical care.

Causes of waking up dizzy

Some of the common causes of waking up dizzy are listed below:

1. Inner ear conditions: The inner ear is home to organs that help maintain balance or steadiness. Hence, problems of the inner ear can result in dizziness after waking up. It may be noted that dizziness may occur at anytime and not just in the morning.

• Meniere’s disease and otitis interna/labyrinthitis are two types of conditions that affect the inner ear and may be marked by waking up dizzy.

2. Deficient levels of oxygen

Low oxygen levels in blood after waking up usually occurs due to diseases of the heart, lungs, or the respiratory system as well as blood anomalies.

• Sleep apnea: Sleep apnea can be described as a condition where the normal breathing process stops momentarily when one is asleep. Obstructive sleep apnea is a more prevalent form and occurs due to blockage of the airways by throat tissue that collapses when sleeping. It has been observed that the levels of oxygen in blood tend to be lower in morning than evening in people suffering from obstructive sleep apnea.
• Anemia: The most widespread type of anemia is iron-deficiency anemia. Patients suffer from hemoglobin levels that are lower than normal which in turn affects the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. When this occurs in combination with low respiratory depth and rate as well as reduced heart rate and blood pressure when sleeping, then it may result in very low levels of oxygen upon waking up and subsequent dizziness.
• COPD/Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: It is a persistent respiratory disease marked by impaired air flow due to lung dysfunction and obstructions or constriction of the airways. The condition generally has links with cigarette smoking over a prolonged period of many years. Patients have high levels of carbon dioxide and low oxygen after waking up as well as throughout the day. Hence, waking up dizzy is common in people with COPD.

3. Blood sugar problems

Waking up dizzy can occur due to varied health problems that trigger blood glucose abnormalities.

• Diabetes mellitus: In people with diabetes mellitus Type 1 and Type 2, glucose levels abnormalities are common in the mornings because of naturally occurring changes in hormone levels in the body as well as due to poor management and control of the disease. Cyclical alterations in the levels of hormones typically occur between 3 am and 8 am; this process is called dawn phenomenon and is associated with significant rise in levels of blood sugar. Poor management of diabetes can result in very low levels of blood sugar followed by a rise in blood glucose levels.
• Hypoglycemia: This condition is characterized by low levels of blood sugar. It is caused due to inability of body to keep the blood sugar levels within the specific required range. Food intake does not occur when one is sleeping; this can result in low levels of blood sugar and its varied effects such as waking up dizzy are felt in the mornings. In most cases, eating breakfast resolves the problem. However, with reactive hypoglycemia patients may experience the adverse symptoms a few hours post meals.

4. Cardiovascular diseases

Waking up dizzy may occur as part of below listed underlying conditions.

• Heart diseases: There are many conditions that may result in dizziness after waking up due to blood flow problems. The dizziness may not necessary occur specifically at mornings, but is often worse after awakening from sleep or suddenly standing up. Different heart problems like heart valve disease, heart attack, cardiac failure, arrhythmia, supraventicular tachycardia, and pulmonary hypertension, etc., can also adversely affect the blood flow and lead to waking up dizzy.
• Hypotension: It is low blood pressure which can occur due to varied reasons like anemia, heart failure, pregnancy dehydration, blood loss, and hormone imbalances, etc. Hypotension generally causes dizziness, but instances of waking up dizzy are worse due to low pressure and heart rate when asleep. Orthostatic hypotension refers to inability of body to maintain sufficient blood pressure when lying flat or standing up straight from a seated position.
• Hypertension: Waking up dizzy may also occur due to abnormally high blood pressure. People with hypertension may experience morning dizziness if they have not taken their medicines; the symptom disappears after the pills are taken.

5. Other causes: Waking up dizzy may occur due to varied underlying conditions like insomnia; liver disease; dehydration; migraines and headaches; encephalitis, meningitis, sinusitis infections; depression, anxiety, stress, and other psychiatric problems; and cyanide, arsenic, carbon monoxide, aspirin poisoning.