You stand up too fast and suddenly the room is spinning. Or you roll over in bed and the ceiling won’t stop moving. Vertigo is one of those things that sounds minor until it happens to you, and then it’s all you can think about. But you don’t always need a prescription to find relief. These five natural remedies are some of the most effective tools for calming vertigo at home.
1. The Epley Maneuver
This is the big one. The Epley Maneuver is a specific sequence of head movements designed to reposition tiny calcium crystals in your inner ear that have shifted out of place, which is the most common cause of vertigo. It sounds complicated, but you can do it on your bed in about five minutes.
Here’s how: Sit on the edge of your bed and turn your head 45 degrees to the right. Quickly lie back with your head still turned, and hold for 30 seconds. Turn your head 90 degrees to the left, and hold another 30 seconds. Then roll your entire body to the left and hold 30 seconds before slowly sitting up. Many people feel relief after just one session.
2. Ginger Tea
Ginger has been used for centuries to calm dizziness and nausea, and it holds up under modern scrutiny too. It’s thought to work by calming the vestibular system — the part of your inner ear responsible for balance. Slice a one-inch piece of fresh ginger, steep it in hot water for 10 minutes, and add a little honey. Sip it slowly when symptoms hit, or make it a daily habit if you’re prone to episodes.
3. Brandt-Daroff Exercises
Where the Epley Maneuver is great for acute relief, Brandt-Daroff exercises are more of a daily practice for reducing how often vertigo shows up in the first place. They work by training your brain to compensate for inner ear disturbances over time.
Start sitting upright on the edge of your bed. Quickly lie down on your left side with your nose pointed up at a 45-degree angle. Hold for 30 seconds, then return to sitting. Repeat on the right side. That’s one set, aim for five sets, twice a day. It feels a little awkward at first, but most people notice a difference within a few weeks.
4. Hydration and a Lower-Salt Diet
This one surprises people, but dehydration is a well-known trigger for vertigo, especially for anyone dealing with Meniere’s disease, a condition affecting the inner ear. Excess sodium makes it worse by causing fluid buildup in the ear. The fix is simple, aim for at least eight glasses of water a day and try to keep sodium under 1,500mg. It’s not glamorous advice, but it makes a real difference for a lot of people.
5. Vitamin D
Turns out, a surprising number of people with recurring vertigo are deficient in Vitamin D, and research suggests that correcting the deficiency can reduce how often episodes come back. Vitamin D plays a role in the health of the calcium crystals in your inner ear, so when levels drop, those crystals become more likely to shift. Ask your doctor about getting your levels checked, and if you’re low, a daily supplement may be one of the simplest things you can do for long-term vertigo prevention.
Vertigo can feel scary and disorienting in the moment, but most cases respond really well to these kinds of simple, consistent approaches. Start with the Epley Maneuver for immediate relief, build in hydration and Vitamin D for the long haul, and give the exercises a few weeks to do their work. If your symptoms are severe, come on suddenly with no obvious trigger, or are accompanied by hearing loss or vision changes, it’s worth checking in with your doctor to rule out anything more serious.