‘Feeling Dizzy After Sleep May Be Sign Of Low Blood Pressure’

Medical experts have said dizziness is often temporary and may not always have a clear cause, but waking up regularly and feeling dizzy may be a symptom of underlying serious health conditions.

Mayo Clinic described dizziness as a range of sensations, such as feeling faint, woozy, and weak or unsteady, which creates the false sense that one’s surroundings are spinning.

Physicians said the most common possible cause of this condition is a drop in blood pressure, medically known as postural hypotension.

According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, postural hypotension occurs when your blood pressure drops as you go from lying down to sitting up, or from sitting to standing.

“When your blood pressure drops, less blood can go to your organs and muscles. This can make you more likely to feel dizzy and fall,” the CDC added.

Experts, who spoke with PUNCH Healthwise in different interviews, said other causes include ear infection, hypertension, hypoglycemia and dehydration.

They said it could also be a side effect of certain medications, saying that these are warning signs that must not be ignored.

According to them, dizziness may lead to a fall which may lead to injury or stroke, urging people with this feeling to go for periodic medical examinations.

A Chief Consultant Otolaryngologist at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State, Professor Mala Sandabe said the most common reason for the condition is drop in blood pressure.

He stated that when the blood pressure is high or low, it leads to dizziness while trying to get up from a lying position, saying that the next condition to postural hypotension is ear infections such as meniere’s disease.

He said, “Meniere’s disease is an inner ear problem that can cause dizzy spells and hearing loss because the ear helps in body balancing. Mostly, meniere’s disease affects one ear and can happen at any age, though it usually occurs between ages 40 and 60.

“Meniere’s disease is a rare disorder that affects the inner ear and it is thought to be a lifelong condition. However, some treatments can help ease symptoms and lessen its impact. It can cause tinnitus and a feeling of pressure deep inside the ear.

“When there is a trauma in the middle or the inner ear, there will be dizziness because the three semicircular canals in the ear help to maintain body balance.

“In the ear-related issues, dizziness occurs when the fluid in the inner ear touches the walls of the ear, while lying down, especially when there is a trauma. As small as a cotton bud is, it can cause a serious trauma by destroying the eardrum.”

Also speaking, a Family Physician and Public Health expert, Dr Rotimi Adesanya, affirmed that waking up dizzy is due to postural hypotension.

Adesanya, who is also the Head, Medical Services, Federal College of Education Medical Centre, Akoka, Lagos, said this condition can happen to people of different ages but more in elderly people.

He said, “One can fall for lack of balance but will regain his balance almost immediately. The fall might not be serious except the person has hypertension that may lead to stroke or any other serious health condition or injury.

“Postural hypotension occurs when your blood pressure drops when you go from lying down to sitting up or from sitting to standing. It’s just normal because the blood doesn’t circulate well. Dizziness and fall happened because there was no body balance.”

On the way forward, he added, “We advise people to slowly get up after lying down. We encourage them first to get up and sit, before walking to avoid falling. They are meant to start from lying to sitting and then standing. With this, the body would have maintained required balance. Dizziness may also be side effects of certain drugs, especially BP medications.”

More so, Moyo Clinic, affirmed that dizziness is the most common reason adults visit their doctors, saying that frequent dizzy spells or constant dizziness can significantly affect their lives.
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