Why You Feel Dizzy When You Stand Up, and Why Experts Say It Shouldn’t Be Ignored

It can happen when you rise from your desk, get up after playing on the floor with your children, or even step out of bed in the morning. Lately, the move from sitting or lying down to standing leaves you briefly dizzy. You may need to stop, shut your eyes, steady yourself on something nearby, and wait a few seconds before continuing. So what is going on, and is it something to brush off?

Medical experts say that feeling dizzy every time you stand up is not normal, and it is worth seeing a doctor to find out why it is happening. They note that the cause is often something straightforward to address, and any symptom that affects daily life deserves attention.

Why does standing up make me dizzy?

The body constantly adjusts blood flow to match what you are doing, and you usually do not notice it until that system fails.

“When someone stands up, gravity pulls blood toward the lower half of the body, and the nervous system has to respond quickly to maintain blood flow to the brain. If that adjustment doesn’t happen efficiently, you can feel lightheaded, see spots, or feel as though you’re about to faint,” says Dr. Motisola Lewis, MD, internal medicine physician and founder of Lewis Medical NY.

For women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, dizziness when standing can point to a wide range of causes.

“Some of the most common causes are dehydration, not eating or drinking enough, low blood pressure, anemia, blood loss, and medication side effects. In women in their 30s through 50s, I also think about heavy menstrual bleeding, hormonal transitions, and medications that can affect blood pressure or heart rate. Sometimes there is more than one contributing factor,” Lewis explains.

It is also important to tell the difference between dizziness and vertigo so you can describe what you are feeling clearly to your doctor.

“If they feel lightheaded, faint, or like they might pass out, I would think about blood pressure issues, especially orthostatic hypotension. Orthostatic hypotension is a drop in blood pressure with standing. Dehydration, medication side effects or interactions, blood sugar fluctuations, cardiovascular issues, and other medical conditions can also cause lightheadedness,” says Dr. Kim Bell, a doctor of physical therapy who specializes in dizziness, vertigo, balance problems, and fall prevention.

“If they describe more of a brief spinning sensation when they get up, I would also want to rule out benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, which is the most common inner ear cause of vertigo. BPPV can cause momentary dizziness or spinning with position changes such as sitting up in bed or getting out of bed.”

If you have already scheduled a medical visit about your dizziness, keep notes for a week or two beforehand. Bell recommends tracking what the sensation feels like, what movement or position brings it on, and how long it lasts. “Those details can provide important clues about the cause.”

Is it normal to get dizzy when standing up?

If it happens once, it may simply mean you were dehydrated. But if it happens often, Lewis and Bell agree that it is not normal.

“I would not want someone to assume that their height, age, stress level, or tendency to ‘stand up too fast’ explains recurring dizziness without actually investigating the cause,” says Bell.

If a doctor has ever dismissed your dizziness as standing too quickly, anxiety, or even being too tall, consider getting another opinion.

“Women deserve to be heard before their symptoms are explained away. Many women are exceptionally good at pushing through discomfort. They get the children ready, go to work, care for their families, and carry on even when they don’t feel well. Sometimes they normalize their symptoms because they’ve been told that what they’re experiencing is just stress, aging, or something they have to live with. But if you're consistently dizzy when you stand, exhausted despite sleeping, experiencing a racing heart, or struggling to function the way you used to, it’s worth asking why,” says Lewis.

That does not mean the dizziness points to something rare or severe. Lewis adds that the cause is usually simple and very treatable.

What symptoms are red flags when dizziness happens on standing?

Some symptoms paired with standing dizziness call for quicker medical attention, Lewis says. Bell and Lewis say they would want to see a patient as soon as possible if they had any of the following:

• Dizziness that becomes more frequent, worsens, interferes with daily activities, or is causing falls or near-falls
• Dizziness that arises after starting a new medication or changing an old medication’s dosage
• Presyncope (feeling like you’re going to faint) or syncope (actually losing consciousness)
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Unexplained weight loss
• Unusually heavy periods or other signs of bleeding
• Black or bloody stools

If new neurological symptoms appear — such as sudden weakness or numbness on one side, confusion, double vision, trouble speaking, or a sudden severe headache — Lewis says you should go to the nearest emergency room.

Could it be POTS?

You may have heard more about POTS recently because awareness of it has grown.

Studies from around the world show that more health experts are diagnosing postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, than ever before. It is an autonomic nervous system disorder that causes the heart to beat faster than normal when a person moves from lying or sitting to standing. Dizziness on standing is one of its main symptoms. Severe viral infections can trigger the condition, and public health experts believe the COVID-19 pandemic led many previously healthy people to develop POTS.

Even though it is part of the public conversation, Lewis says POTS is not the most common reason people feel dizzy when they stand. In women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, there may be several factors at once, including sleep problems, hormonal changes, and iron deficiency.

Whatever the cause, if getting dizzy when you stand is affecting how you feel or function, “you deserve a thoughtful evaluation” from your healthcare provider, Lewis says.