I feel light headed when I get up from lying! What’s wrong with me? Should I be concerned?

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Relax, take a deep breath, there is nothing wrong. You are most likely experiencing a phenomenon know as orthostatic hypotension, don’t worry it sounds worse than it is. Simply put, orthostatic hypotension is a temporary drop in blood pressure to your brain. When our bodies are in a lying position, our hearts do not have to work as hard to pump blood up against gravity to our heads. This diminished heart contraction also allows the arteries that carry blood to the brain to relax and become dilated. So when our circulatory system is in this relaxed position and we go from lying to sitting or standing quickly the blood in our head literally drains backward into these dilated arteries, thus creating momentary light headed sensation. Once the pressure receptors of our circulatory system recognize this, they quickly adjust the system, returning blood pressure to our brains and we feel fine again. This sensation of feeling light headed may last longer in individuals that tend to have low blood pressure. If this feeling persists consistently for greater than three minutes every time you get up, or if you have a sensation of spinning or vertigo, then you should contact your health care professional. 

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