its common. get up slower.

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@christopher_borden •
Spinning Spoke • Dimond Bikes • Flo Cycling • Castelli Cycling

I actually saw a GP about this problem a few years ago. I have what he called "positional hypotension" and its caused by my very low resting heart rate. When I stand up my blood pressure drops and my body attempts to compensate. That is the "head rush" that I feel. Its normal and not dangerous (at least in my case). You might want to see a GP just to make sure you are experiencing the same thing.

My rested resting heart rate is around 40.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

Endurance training increase blood volume. Plasma increases at a greater rate than oxygen carrying red blood cells (which is why endurance athletes use EPO to increase red blood cells / hematocrit), therefore making head rushes more common.

yes, the better shape I am in, the worse it gets.

this is a common problem for tall people

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

pretty much the same stats as you and I've had this exact same problem for as long as I can remember.
I've stood up at work many a time (when I worked in an office setting)...grabbed a cubical to keep from falling over and listened to a co-worker have a conversation to me while for the next 20 seconds I had no idea what was said. When I was much younger I've fallen down stairs, hit my head on tables, etc. Now I know how to handle it better and just put my hand on a wall or chair and wait for it to pass.

....also glad to know it's more common than I thought :)

Michael

I actually passed out from this once. I recently heard that if you tighten your abdominal muscles (pretty much your whole torso) when you feel a head rush come on, it helps to prevent the blood from rushing out of your head. I now do it consistently when this occurs, and I find that it really helps. You don't even have to stop walking, just tighten everything up for a few seconds until it passes.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

Same here. Increases with my fitness. I have to be careful because once I completely passed out and cracked my head on the floor.

I've always wondered about that. Thanks for posting Auto!

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Stay off the drugs son, your body is a temple.

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"I really wish you would post more often. You always have some good stuff to say. I copied it below just in case someone missed it." BarryP to Chainpin on 10/21/06

Just wanted to bump this thread to get some additional input on this topic.

Seems like the better shape I'm in, the more frequently I get head rushes. In fact, I can't stand up these days without having to pause for a few seconds. Do you guys experience the same thing?

Yeah, I get them pretty much everytime I stand up from a prolonged (30 mins+) sitting/laying. I'm not overly worried about it, unless it get's to the point were I actually pass out.

Usually has to do with blood pressure and heart rate. I have low blood pressure and when I've been sitting or laying down for a while, my heart rate also drops. Takes a minute or two for the blood to start pumping again.

It happens to me all the time - worse when I'm tired.

Official advice from my doctor, "get up slower".

It is more alarming to those around me; I'm used to it now. Although there was the one time when I fully fainted while holding my baby niece. I felt bad about that for a long time. :(

Yikes! Sorry to hear that - hopefully everything was OK?

Thanks for the info, guys. Sounds like this is pretty normal and nothing to worry about! Good to know.

Definitely a thing for me - being 6’4” exacerbates it. I find that forcing a cough can help keep it at bay.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Yup. As with others, more when I'm tired after big training days---also tends to be worse if I'm dehydrated. Also gets worse as my CTL gets above 50-60 (now).

Get up slow. If laying down, sit up first...wait....then stand up. Drink lots to keep blood volume up.

Ditto here. I find that I have head rushes more when I am dehydrated. It's a "good" sign that I need to get some liquid in me.

yeah, happens to me too

For me it is when I am on the couch and the wife says dinner is ready.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Yeah, everything was fine. Scared my sister a lot though.

Get your iron levels checked. I had this for a long time and it was due to being anemic. I now take an iron supplement and it has gone away.

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https://twitter.com/mungub

Just like others have mentioned, often caused by low resting heart rate. I have had is for decades and have a few scars from passing out (falling down steps, hitting my head on tables, etc.). I usually experience it a few times a day each and every day so I've just learned to live with and be cautious when standing up. I can often "black out" while standing so I make sure I just hold onto something solid and stay still until it 100% passes........for a while I would rush it and start walking when it "almost passed" and would have my legs buckle from under me to fall. It's no fun.....but a 100 EKG's later I've learned nothing new or how to fix it.

Same as others, I have low resting HR 38-45 BPM depending on conditioning. It's worst when I lie down for a period after a hard workout then get up quickly.

To add to the reasons already given, also google "vasovagal syncope" or "neurocardiogenic syncope" - heart rate and blood pressure drop drastically, which can result in lightheadedness or fainting.

I've always had frequent lightheadedness when standing up, but would also experience it after harder workouts. I actually passed out in the pool once after a 100 due to my HR crashing. It was later replicated in a stress test - I passed out during the cool down immediately after the test. Cardiologist confirmed it was my HR dropping too fast, considered it neurocardiogenic syncope, and said to 1) try to cool down better to gradually let my HR drop and 2) supplement sodium to help keep my blood pressure up. I've been doing this since then (1.5 years ago), haven't passed out again, and get light headed much less often. Resting HR and BP are both still on the low side. I'm in my mid 30's, for whatever that's worth.

...maybe something to look into depending on how bad you have it.