One of the many struggles of people who have vertigo is getting quality sleep. And unfortunately, the lack of which can trigger more intense, dizzying spells that could last for a few minutes to an hour.
If you experience the same problem, chances are you have a hard time attending to your usual tasks at home or work. To help you get around that, let’s take a look at vertigo as a symptom and the natural remedies for vertigo that you can try.
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Most people use vertigo and dizziness interchangeably. However, it’s important to note that they differ a bit from each other. When you go to your doctor to report dizziness or vertigo, you need to point out specific details, such as the symptoms that come with the episodes and other pre-existing conditions.
You can tell that you have vertigo attacks and not simple dizziness based on the sensation you experience. For example, do you feel like everything around you is spinning, or do you only feel lightheaded? How about the accompanying symptoms? Do you also experience nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, migraine, or sensory sensitivity during the episode?
If you answer that you feel like you’re in motion even when you’re still and suffer from additional symptoms, you have vertigo.
While it’s tempting to immediately scroll through the section where we discuss the natural remedies for vertigo, it’s equally important to understand what’s causing your symptom. This way, you can ensure that the method you choose can provide you with much-needed relief.
Essentially, vertigo arises from a malfunction in the vestibular system, a group of tiny bones inside the ears. This system takes charge of sending signals about your head’s motion or your body’s orientation to the brain.
Unfortunately, for patients like you, your vestibular system isn’t working as it should, so you end up feeling like you’re in motion, even when you’re perfectly still. To give you more ideas, let’s look at the common causes of vertigo.
Meniere’s disease is a rare ear disease, affecting only 0.2 percent of the US population. If you’re diagnosed with Meniere’s, this means that you have an abnormal build-up of fluid inside the ears, causing ear congestions, temporary hearing loss, tinnitus, and severe bouts of vertigo.
One of the most common causes behind vertigo is BPPV. When you’re diagnosed with this condition, it means that the ear rocks or calcium crystals located inside your inner ear get displaced somewhere along the ear canal.
When this happens, your brain gets tricked that you’re moving, when in fact, you’re not in motion. Often, the symptoms worsen when you change your head’s position.
Besides the two common causes we listed above, labyrinthitis and neuritis also trigger mild to severe vertigo attacks. These are both ear infections that can cause a lot of problems to the ear.
They affect the vestibular nerve, which transmits signals concerning motion and balance to your brain. As a result, the signal transmission gets disrupted, causing loss of balance and sensory disturbances.
When sleeping at night, it’s common to roll your head on the bed to find a comfortable position. However, because you have vertigo, this can be quite challenging.
If you’re diagnosed with BBPV, this triggers vertigo quite quickly. If, on one hand, you got diagnosed with Meniere’s, lying on your pillow increases fluid buildup. This can increase ear congestion and, later on, bouts of dizzying spells.
It can be quite a frustrating ordeal, especially once the symptoms start to show. How should you sleep with vertigo? To improve your situation and decrease your chances of triggering another vertigo attack, here are some practices you can try:
You’ve probably read a lot about how laying down on your back when sleeping provides you with the best support for your spine. But, besides that, it can also improve the quality of your sleep.
With this sleeping position, you can keep the calcium crystal from migrating to places where they shouldn’t be. Also, it’s quite handy in minimizing fluid build-up.
Aim to create a sleeping habit that works for you. You can do this by maintaining a regular sleeping and waking-up time. You can also explore relaxation options such as aromatherapy, meditation, and warm baths before you sleep.
As much as possible, you should also skip caffeine, heavy meals, long screen exposure, and alcohol a few hours before bedtime.
Instead of pacing out of the room when you wake up, you should opt to make small movements. By doing so, you can minimize vertigo intensity and frequency.
Aim to transition from a lying position to a sitting and standing position as slowly as you can. This way, you can help your inner ear adjust and adapt to your head’s position and orientation.
Besides making a few lifestyle changes, visiting an upper cervical chiropractor is one of the best natural remedies for vertigo. Notice how your neck and head movements can trigger an uncomfortable dizzying spell? This shows the connection between your condition and the neck’s structure, the key focus of upper cervical care professionals. By seeing an upper cervical chiropractic doctor, you can assess the alignment of your neck and head. If they find misalignments, they can correct them through gentle and specific adjustments.
Once your head and neck return to their correct alignment, fluid drainage in the inner ear and transmission of brain signals improve. Plenty of patients have found long-lasting relief from upper cervical care techniques.
Are you ready to give it a try? Check out the list of upper cervical care chiropractic doctors in your area today and contact them for a consultation session.
to schedule a consultation today.
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
