Lightheaded When You Stand Up
Author: Dr. Vrolijk | Updated: August 23, 2025 | Disclaimer | Review Process | References
Ever stood up and felt dizzy or like you might pass out? Wondering if it’s normal or something to worry about? Not sure what to do when it happens or how to make it stop?
This page explains what might be causing your symptoms, when to get help, and what you can do.
On This Page:
What Is Orthostatic Hypotension?
Have you ever felt lightheaded or weak when you stand up? Or felt like you might pass out? This is called orthostatic hypotension.
Orthostatic hypotension is a very common condition. We usually think of it as something that happens to older people. That’s because it’s more likely to happen the older you are. By age 60, 1 in 5 people have orthostatic hypotension.
What Normally Happens When You Stand Up
When you stand up, your blood pressure drops. Your body quickly adjusts by making your heart beat faster and tightening blood vessels. This keeps your blood pressure about the same.
With Orthostatic Hypotension
Your body can’t adjust fast enough. Your blood pressure drops, which means less blood is delivered to your brain. This can make you feel lightheaded or weak.
🚨 Get Emergency Help if You Have
- Chest pain or trouble breathing
- Faint or pass out
- Fall for no clear reason
- Any other concerning symptoms
Quick Tips for Symptom Relief
When you feel symptoms, these tricks might help:
If You're Standing and Feel Stable
- Cross your legs – put one leg in front of the other
- Put one foot up on a step, chair, or curb while leaning forward
If You Can Sit
- Sit down
- Cross your legs and squeeze them together
- Lean forward with your elbows on your knees
- Lie down and put your legs higher than your body
🚨 Be Careful
Sit down if you think you might fall or pass out. It’s better to sit or lie on the floor than to fall.
Daily Habits That Can Help
This is important to avoid falling.
- In bed: Sit up first, wait at least 30 seconds, then swing your legs over the side and wait again
- From a chair: Stand up slowly and pause before walking
- Give your body time to adjust at each step
- Drink water when you wake up – have a glass right when you get out of bed
- Drink extra water before activities that might trigger symptoms
- Stay hydrated throughout the day
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals instead of large ones
- Avoid large, carb-heavy meals that can make symptoms worse
- Sleep with your head elevated – use extra pillows or raise the head of your bed
- Recumbent or stationary bike – you’re seated and supported
- Rowing machine – also seated
- Walking with a walking stick – gives you support and lets you lean forward
Many people who deal with feeling lightheaded have high blood pressure. Usually this is when they’re lying down or when they’re body gets used to a position.
Over time, high blood pressure will make you feel more lightheaded when you stand up. This is why it’s important to keep working with your medical team to treat high blood pressure.
Things to Avoid
- Very hot showers or saunas – heat can make symptoms worse
- Standing for long periods – take breaks to sit down
- Standing still after exercise – keep moving or sit down right away
- Drinking a lot of alcohol
- Not drinking enough water
Seeing a Healthcare Provider
Even if these tips help, you should still see a healthcare provider to find the cause. Some health problems that cause these symptoms need to be treated or they’ll get worse.
When to Make an Appointment
See your doctor if you:
- Haven’t been diagnosed yet with orthostatic hypotension
- Have symptoms that have changed or worsened since you last saw your provider
What to Expect
- Test your blood pressure lying down and standing
- Review your medications, supplements, and over the counter meds
- Check for other health conditions that could cause your symptoms
Quick Answers
Unfortunately, there isn’t a medicine to fix orthostatic hypotension. There are medicines that raise blood pressure, but many people with orthostatic hypotension have high blood pressure when lying down. Since high blood pressure can make the problem worse, medicines that raise blood pressure might make your symptoms worse.
Usually, you will get your blood pressure measured lying down. Then you’ll stand for 1-3 minutes and get your blood pressure measured again.
You might get blood tests to check for anemia, dehydration, and diabetes.
You may also get an EKG to check your heart. (An EKG is where they put stickers connected to wires on your chest.)
Your provider will review all your medications too. Some medicines can cause lightheadedness when you stand up.
Many conditions can cause this. Some common ones are:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease
- Thyroid problems
- Some medications
This is why it’s important to see your healthcare provider. They can check for an underlying problem and suggest ways to keep it from getting worse.
You may want to ask:
- Is a health condition causing my symptoms?
- What has the healthcare team ruled out?
- Are any of my medications or supplements making it worse?
- What lifestyle changes might help me?
- When should I call about symptoms and when to go to the emergency room?
- What warning signs to watch out for?
A change in the body causes orthostatic hypotension, so usually that change needs treatment before symptoms go away.
Sometimes you can treat the underlying problem. For example, if you’re dehydrated, drinking fluids can help.
Other times, treating the condition plus lifestyle changes help. For example, if you have high blood pressure, treating it and making lifestyle changes can make you feel better.
The main risk is falling when you feel lightheaded. This is why doctors recommend tracking what causes your symptoms. And then making changes to reduce those symptoms.
However, orthostatic hypotension can be a symptom of a more dangerous problem. This is why it’s important to see your healthcare provider.
There are a couple reasons.
- Your blood pressure drops when you stand up. Your blood pressure can drop when you stand. This change happens fast and can make you feel dizzy.
- You haven’t been drinking water, so you may be a little dehydrated
What can help: Drink a big glass of water before you stand up. Wait a little while before standing. And make sure to stand up slowly.
Yes! Exercise can actually help. But choose activities where you’re seated and don’t have much position changes (like squats). For example, a bike where you’re seated with a back rest or rowing.
What to Read Next
All of Our Pages on Blood Pressure
Resources We Used
Palma JA, Kaufmann H, Kowey P. Treatment of orthostatic and postprandial hypotension. UpToDate, Waltham. Published online 2022. Accessed July 21, 2025. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/5105
Ricci F, De Caterina R, Fedorowski A. Orthostatic Hypotension. JACC. 2015;66(7):848-860. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2015.06.1084
Wieling W, Kaufmann H, Claydon VE, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of orthostatic hypotension. The Lancet Neurology. 2022;21(8):735-746. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(22)00169-7
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