Dizziness when bending your head down

If the room spins for a short time when you bend, look up, roll over or turn your head, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is one possible explanation. If you feel faint rather than spinning, a blood-pressure shift, dehydration, heat exhaustion, low blood sugar or anaemia may be relevant. Neck discomfort, visual strain, anxiety and some medicines can also affect steadiness. Atrial fibrillation may cause dizziness with a racing or irregular heartbeat, but the symptom alone cannot identify a heart problem. Notice whether symptoms begin during the movement, on standing afterwards, or continue while still.

Bend by lowering your knees or keeping one hand on a stable surface, and pause before standing upright. Sit immediately if the sensation begins. Avoid ladders, driving and bathing alone while episodes are unpredictable. Record the movement that triggers symptoms, whether there is spinning, nausea, hearing change, headache or palpitations, and how quickly you recover. Arrange an appointment if the pattern repeats, worsens, causes falls, or affects work or daily tasks. A clinician can assess balance, blood pressure, medicines and hearing, then decide whether tests are useful.

Call emergency services for sudden dizziness with weakness or numbness on one side, facial drooping, trouble speaking, severe headache, chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, new double vision or inability to walk. Seek prompt help after a head injury or if vomiting prevents you from keeping fluids down.

Ask whether the pattern suggests a positional balance disorder or a circulation problem. Discuss medicines, blood pressure checks, hearing symptoms and whether a guided balance assessment is appropriate. Ask how to move safely while the cause is being clarified.