Most vertigo, especially the type triggered by changes in head position, can be effectively treated at home with specific head movements that work in about 8 out of 10 people. The most common cause of vertigo is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), which happens when tiny calcium crystals in your inner ear drift into the wrong canal and send false motion signals to your brain. The good news: repositioning those crystals yourself takes less than five minutes.
The Epley Maneuver
The Epley maneuver is the gold standard home treatment for BPPV affecting the posterior canal, which accounts for the vast majority of cases. It works by guiding the displaced crystals out of the semicircular canal through a series of head positions. Research from CU Anschutz Medical Campus puts its effectiveness at roughly 90 percent.
To perform it for the right ear:
- Sit on your bed with your legs extended. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right.
- Lie back quickly, keeping your head turned, so your shoulders land on the pillow and your head reclines slightly past the edge. Wait 30 seconds.
- Turn your head 90 degrees to the left (without lifting it) and wait another 30 seconds.
- Roll your entire body onto your left side while turning your head another 90 degrees so you’re looking at the floor. Wait 30 seconds.
- Sit up slowly from your left side.
If your left ear is the problem, reverse all directions. You may need to repeat the maneuver up to three times in a single session, and up to three times a day for several days, to fully resolve symptoms. After performing it, sleeping with your head elevated at about a 45-degree angle for the first night can help prevent the crystals from drifting back.
The Half-Somersault Maneuver
If the Epley maneuver makes you dizzy or nauseated during the process, the half-somersault (Foster) maneuver is a gentler alternative. Research comparing the two found that both relieve BPPV symptoms, but patients reported less dizziness and fewer complications when using the half-somersault at home.
For the right ear:
- Kneel on the floor and tilt your head back to look at the ceiling briefly.
- Place your head on the floor in front of you, tucking your chin as if starting a somersault.
- Turn your head to face your right elbow. Hold for 30 seconds or until dizziness stops.
- Raise your head quickly to back level, keeping it turned toward your right shoulder. Hold 30 seconds.
- Raise your head fully upright, still turned slightly toward your shoulder. Then slowly center your head.
Wait 15 minutes before repeating. This maneuver is particularly useful for people who find it difficult to lie flat on a bed or who get intense spinning from the Epley.
Brandt-Daroff Exercises
When repositioning maneuvers don’t fully resolve your symptoms, or you’re not sure which ear is affected, Brandt-Daroff exercises work as a general desensitization approach. They’re less targeted than the Epley but can help your brain adapt to the abnormal signals.
Sit on the edge of your bed. Turn your head 45 degrees to the right, then quickly drop onto your left side, bringing your legs onto the bed. Stay for 30 seconds, or longer if the room is still spinning. Return to sitting. Now turn your head 45 degrees to the left and drop onto your right side. That’s one repetition. Do several repetitions at least twice a day until symptoms improve.
Managing Nausea During Episodes
Vertigo often comes with nausea that can be severe enough to keep you from doing the exercises you need. Ginger is one of the better-studied natural options for this. Clinical trials have used doses of 250 mg to 1 g per day, split into three or four portions. The 1 g daily dose appears to be just as effective as higher amounts. Ginger capsules, ginger tea, or candied ginger before performing repositioning maneuvers can take the edge off enough to get through them.
Staying hydrated and avoiding alcohol also helps, since dehydration and alcohol both affect the fluid balance in your inner ear and can intensify spinning sensations.
Dietary Changes for Recurring Vertigo
If your vertigo comes back frequently or is linked to Ménière’s disease (vertigo lasting hours, with hearing changes and ear fullness), reducing sodium intake can make a real difference. Guidelines recommend keeping sodium under 2,000 mg per day. Symptoms tend to improve when intake drops below 3,000 mg daily, with better results at the lower target. This works because excess sodium alters fluid pressure in the inner ear, triggering episodes.
Practically, this means cooking more at home, reading labels on packaged foods, and cutting back on restaurant meals. Canned soups, deli meats, soy sauce, and frozen dinners are common culprits. Most people eating a typical Western diet consume 3,400 mg or more per day, so even a modest reduction can help.
Vitamin D and Preventing Recurrence
A randomized controlled trial published in Neurology found that people with low vitamin D levels who supplemented with vitamin D and calcium had significantly fewer BPPV recurrences. Those with the lowest levels (under 10 ng/mL) saw a 45 percent reduction in annual recurrence. People with moderately low levels (10 to 20 ng/mL) saw a 14 percent reduction.
The supplementation used in the study was 800 IU of vitamin D and 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate daily. If you’ve had BPPV more than once, getting your vitamin D level checked through a simple blood test is worth considering. Deficiency is extremely common, particularly in people who spend most of their time indoors or live in northern climates.
Making Your Home Safer During Episodes
Vertigo dramatically increases your fall risk, and falls during active episodes tend to happen in predictable places. A few targeted changes reduce that risk significantly.
In the bathroom, install grab bars near the toilet and inside the shower, and put nonslip mats on any surface that gets wet. Leave a night light on, since vertigo is often worse in darkness when your brain can’t use visual cues to compensate. In the bedroom, keep a light switch and phone within arm’s reach of your bed and a flashlight nearby for power outages.
Throughout the house, remove throw rugs and secure any loose carpeting. Clear walking paths of clutter, shoes, and electrical cords. Clean up spills immediately, and prepare food while seated to prevent loss of balance at the stove. If you have pets, stay aware of where they are when you’re moving around.
Consider keeping a charged phone on your body at all times during active vertigo periods. Smartwatches with fall detection can automatically call for help if you go down, and smart speakers let you voice-dial emergency contacts without needing to find your phone.
When Home Treatment Isn’t Enough
Home maneuvers work well for the most common type of positional vertigo, but certain symptoms signal something other than BPPV. Vertigo lasting more than a few minutes per episode, difficulty speaking or swallowing, sudden severe headache, double vision, facial numbness, or inability to walk straight are all reasons to seek immediate medical evaluation. These can indicate a problem in the brain rather than the inner ear.
If you’ve been doing repositioning maneuvers consistently for two weeks without improvement, or your vertigo keeps returning despite supplementation and dietary changes, a vestibular specialist or physical therapist trained in vestibular rehabilitation can identify which canal is involved and tailor treatment accordingly. Some people have crystals in the horizontal canal rather than the posterior canal, which requires a completely different set of maneuvers that are difficult to self-administer.