Most vertigo episodes can be reduced or resolved with specific head movements, targeted exercises, and lifestyle adjustments you can start at home. The right approach depends on what’s causing the spinning sensation, but the most common type of vertigo responds well to simple repositioning maneuvers that work in about 90% of cases.
Identify What Kind of Vertigo You Have
Before diving into remedies, it helps to understand the two broad categories of vertigo, because they respond to very different treatments.
Peripheral vertigo originates in the inner ear and accounts for the vast majority of cases. It tends to come on suddenly, often triggered by a specific head position. The spinning usually lasts seconds to minutes, and while your balance may feel off, you can still walk. The most common form is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), caused by tiny calcium crystals that drift into the wrong part of your ear canal.
Central vertigo comes from the brain or brainstem and is far less common but more serious. It tends to cause constant, severe imbalance where standing or walking without falling becomes difficult. If your dizziness is accompanied by weakness on one side of the body, slurred speech, vision changes, numbness, or difficulty moving, those are neurological signs that point to a central cause like stroke. That combination requires emergency medical attention.
Repositioning Maneuvers for BPPV
If your vertigo is triggered by rolling over in bed, looking up, or tilting your head, BPPV is the most likely cause. The goal of treatment is physically moving those displaced calcium crystals back where they belong, and two maneuvers do this effectively.
The Epley Maneuver
The Epley maneuver is the gold standard for BPPV. Clinical guidelines from the American Academy of Otolaryngology specifically recommend repositioning maneuvers as the primary treatment, while discouraging the use of medications and unnecessary imaging. A clinician can perform it on you, but you can also do a version at home. For the right ear: sit on a bed, turn your head 45 degrees to the right, then lie back quickly so your head hangs slightly off the edge of the bed. Hold each position for about 30 seconds before moving to the next. The full sequence involves a series of head turns that guide the crystals through the canal and back into position.
The maneuver will likely trigger intense but brief vertigo while you’re doing it. That’s actually a sign it’s working. Having someone guide you through it the first time, whether a physical therapist or a knowledgeable friend, makes the process easier and more precise.
The Half-Somersault Maneuver
Developed by Dr. Carol Foster at the University of Colorado, this alternative is easier to do alone. Patients report less dizziness during the half-somersault compared to the Epley, and it doesn’t require an assistant. For the right ear: kneel on the floor and tilt your head back briefly, then tuck your chin and place your head in a somersault position on the floor. Turn your head to face your right elbow, then raise your head quickly back to level while staying on your knees. Finally, sit fully upright. Wait 15 seconds between each position for the crystals to settle.
With either maneuver, you may need to repeat the sequence a few times in one session, and possibly over several days, before symptoms fully resolve.
Vestibular Rehabilitation Exercises
For vertigo that lingers, recurs, or stems from causes beyond BPPV, vestibular rehabilitation trains your brain to compensate for inner ear problems. These exercises fall into two categories: gaze stabilization and habituation.
Gaze Stabilization
These exercises teach your eyes and brain to work together during head movement, which is exactly what breaks down when the inner ear sends faulty signals.
- Head shake “no”: Sit in a chair about five feet from a wall. Pick a word or letter on the wall at eye level. Keeping your eyes locked on that target, turn your head side to side at a comfortable speed for one minute. Your head should move about halfway to each side.
- Head nod “yes”: Same setup, but move your head up and down in a nodding motion while keeping your eyes fixed on the target. Continue for one minute.
- Rotation with hands: Sit in a chair, stretch your arms out with hands clasped and thumbs up. Keeping your eyes on your thumb, slowly rotate your head and body together left and right. Your thumb should look still while the background blurs behind it. Repeat 10 times in each direction.
These exercises from Stanford Medicine’s vestibular therapy program are designed to be slightly uncomfortable. A mild increase in dizziness during the exercise is normal and expected. If it becomes severe, slow down the speed of your movements.
Habituation Exercises
Habituation works by repeatedly exposing your brain to the movements that trigger dizziness, gradually reducing its overreaction. Sit upright in a chair and turn your head and eyes to the left, hold for two to three seconds, then turn to the right and hold. Repeat 5 to 10 times. Do the same with up-and-down movements, looking at the ceiling and then the floor.
Brandt-Daroff Exercises
These are a structured habituation program specifically for BPPV that didn’t fully resolve with repositioning maneuvers. The recommended schedule is five repetitions per session, three times daily for two weeks, or twice daily for three weeks. Each session takes about 10 minutes. You sit on the edge of a bed, quickly lie down on one side with your head angled upward at 45 degrees, hold for 30 seconds or until the dizziness stops, sit back up, then repeat on the other side.
Medications That Reduce Symptoms
Vertigo medications don’t fix the underlying problem. They suppress the signals between your inner ear and brain, dialing down the spinning sensation, nausea, and vomiting. Meclizine is the most commonly used option. It’s an antihistamine available over the counter that blocks the brain signals causing dizziness and nausea. The main side effect is drowsiness, so avoid driving until you know how it affects you.
Clinical guidelines actually recommend against relying on these medications for BPPV specifically. They can mask symptoms and delay proper treatment with repositioning maneuvers, which address the actual cause. Vestibular suppressants are more appropriate for acute episodes of other vertigo types, like vestibular neuritis, where they can take the edge off severe symptoms during the first few days while the brain begins to compensate on its own.
Dietary and Lifestyle Adjustments
If your vertigo is related to Ménière’s disease, which causes episodes of spinning along with hearing loss, ear fullness, and ringing, many doctors recommend limiting sodium, caffeine, and alcohol intake. The theory is that reducing sodium helps regulate fluid pressure in the inner ear. It’s worth noting that a Cochrane review found no randomized controlled trials to confirm or refute these dietary restrictions for Ménière’s. Still, many patients report subjective improvement, and keeping sodium under 1,500 to 2,000 milligrams per day is a reasonable general health goal regardless.
Staying well hydrated matters for all types of vertigo. Dehydration reduces blood volume and can worsen dizziness. Getting enough sleep, managing stress, and avoiding rapid head movements during acute episodes also help. When vertigo strikes, lying still in a dark, quiet room with your head slightly elevated can reduce the intensity until the episode passes.
Supplements and Herbal Approaches
Ginkgo biloba has the most research behind it among herbal options. A meta-analysis of 25 randomized controlled studies involving over 1,200 patients found that adding ginkgo biloba improved symptoms in patients with vertigo caused by poor blood flow to the brain (vertebrobasilar insufficiency) and cervical vertigo. However, it showed no benefit for BPPV or Ménière’s disease. The rate of side effects like headache, digestive upset, and skin rashes was no different from the control groups.
Ginger has traditionally been used for nausea associated with dizziness, and while it’s generally safe, the evidence for vertigo specifically is limited. Neither supplement replaces repositioning maneuvers or rehabilitation exercises for the most common forms of vertigo.
What Helps Most, in Order
If you’re dealing with position-triggered vertigo, start with the half-somersault or Epley maneuver. These resolve the majority of BPPV cases within a few sessions. If symptoms persist beyond a week, add Brandt-Daroff exercises and consider seeing a vestibular therapist who can confirm which ear canal is affected and guide treatment precisely. Use medications sparingly and only for short-term relief of severe nausea or spinning. For chronic or recurring vertigo, vestibular rehabilitation exercises done consistently over several weeks offer the best long-term improvement by retraining how your brain processes balance signals.