Neck pain....weird dizziness when sleeping

What do you mean "dizziness when sleeping"
If you are asleep, then you are sleeping.

Do you mean when you lay down you get dizzy?

I mean like I am laying down trying to sleep and I start to doze off into sleep and then I start to feel dizzy with my eyes closed. but then when I open them no dizziness no nothing...idk???

Relax!! You are just going thru the process of falling asleep . . .

from Google:

When you sleep, your brain goes through 5 different stages of sleep. Each stage of sleep exhibits a different brain wave activity and each serves a different purpose. When you are awake, your brain is a it's highest level of activity. This is known as the beta brain waves.

The beta brain waves are associated with active conscious thinking. This is where most insomnia sufferers stay when they are tossing and turning in bed. Before the body can shut down and go to sleep, the brain must first go through a series of slowing and shutting down.

Stage 1 Sleep

This state has many names such as day dreaming, zoning out, trancing and many others. It is also associated with hypnosis or self-hypnosis. It is the first step of falling asleep and is when the brain enters an alpha brain wave pattern.

In this stage, a person is still somewhat aware. Sounds may be enhanced and the awareness is being shifted inwards.

If you ask someone who seems to be falling asleep if they are sleeping, they will often respond that they are not. They are in fact in stage 1 sleep which is very easy to come out of.

This is also the most effective stage of sleep when taking a nap. It allows the brain to rest and replenish without shutting down the body. This stage lasts about 10-15 minutes and differs for everyone.

Stage 2 Sleep

Stage 2 is categorized by sudden bursts of brain activity. This is the period when the body is shutting down. It may be accompanied by random arm and leg movements.

If you've ever dozed off in public and startled yourself awake, this is why. The on-off transition into deeper sleep ensures that the body is in a safe and secure position before completely shuts off.

Brain wave patterns during sleep stage 2 are referred to as sleep spindles and K-complexes because of the peaks and valleys they form on a graph.

Stage 3 & 4 Sleep

This is known as deep sleep and is very hard to rise from. It is the lowest frequency that the brain reaches and which is called delta brain waves. It is also the hardest stage of sleep to be awoken from and result in grogginess.

This is when the body has completely shut down and the body is rejuvenating. During deep sleep, blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate are at their lowest of the day. Blood vessels are fully dilated and blood is allowed to flow to areas that are normally turned off. Muscles are able to be nourished and repaired.

During a normal night, sleep stage 4 which is for really deep replenishment of the body, is only reached during the first few cycles of sleep. It may even never be reached if the body is kept inactive. This is why activity is so important.

Stage 5: REM Sleep

REM sleep is the most fascinating stage of sleep and is associated with dreaming. Scientists still do not know what true purpose it serves and there is much debate about it. The most credible explanation given so far is that it allows our brains to go through the day experiences and process what was learned.

REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement or Random Eye Movement. It was discovered by a scientist by the name of Nathaniel Kleitman in the 1950s. He noticed that when people entered this stage of sleep, their eyes would start moving very rapidly in all directions. He also discovered that over 90% of the subject that were woken up reported being in a dream.

What's most interesting is that during REM sleep, the brain wave activity is much like the beta brain wave activity during the wakeful state. This makes sense since dreaming tends to be full of action. It is different in the fact that the reasoning center of the brain is not active and explains why purple elephants or going to school in your underwear is totally normal in a dream.

REM sleep cycles are more frequent and longer during the last part of the night. People who practice lucid dreaming, which is the practice of controlling one's dream, report having more lucid dream in the last sleep cycles of the night.

Sleep Cycles

During sleep, the brain cycles from sleep stage 1 to sleep stage 5 numerous times. Each sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes.

Early in the night, the brain spends more time in sleep cycles 3 & 4 and proceeds to spend more and more time in REM sleep. The last REM period can last up to 30 minutes or more.

The verdict is out on what purpose REM sleep, but science will surely find out soon. Dreams are a fascinating aspect of being human and worth investigating.

The bending sideways dizziness sounds just like vertigo. A good friend of mine has it... I'll ask if she gets dizzy while sleeping.

Sounds like a job for a neurologist. If you get a diagnosis of vertigo, my friend testifies that the solution is called the Epley maneuver... it's on wikipedia.

o wow that is very interesting...but do you think thats why I feel dizzy??cause it kept happeneing like throughout the night but idk if it was b/c i was getting very very like anxiuous about it....idk if I explained in my post but i have a huge obession with being dizzy and I was diganosed with labryhtntisis (sry for the spelling) but it turned out that i never had it and i have been to 2 ent's and an balance specialist and they both told me i had no inner ear prob. and so on but i have become soo worried everyday I will be dizzy but idk...if this is related..could I just be worried about and every sleep stage maybe I think about it more?? have u ever experienced dizziness like this??

I don't think it is bppv...b/c I have turned my head and moved around and I am not dizzy and bppv is instant dizziness when you turn over or roll over and mine isn't like that...it happens after a very long time when I am trying to sleep. idk?? im worried though.

Yes, but I find it very pleasant to "fall" asleep. I enjoy that relaxed state . . .

But as someone suggested, it may also be some kind of nerve pressing on something in your neck when you are laying down.

Try just laying down and see if it happens. If it does, then you need to see a Dr.

If it happens just before you fall asleep or when you are tired, it most likely is your body getting relaxed and ready to fall sleep.

Yea...I might try it right now...but like I think my anxiety about it could possibily be causin it too b/c i am expecting it?? idk

The unknown always causes anxiety. Don't worry... the answer will come. BTW there's a thread on this site: Dizziness While Sleeping started by maxpower hd from 2006. Maybe that person knows more at this point.

yea I actually read that one and it helped a little...like I don't think it is ear relted becasue I have exhausted that and wasted a year of my life on that and soo it could be my neck or anxiety or both?? I just hate not being able to sleep at night...and its weird cause it doesn't happen everyday or everynight...soo idk

I have c5 compression... it hurts in the belly of my right deltoid. C4 compression... I don't know, but I don't think it would cause dizziness. That's the thing: dizziness in particular keeps leading back to your ear.

A neurologist could rule out neck involvement. A vascular specialist could address the blood flow through your neck (but I think a problem with that would cause loss of consciousness rather than dizziness... but I'm not a vascular specialist!)

My two cents worth:

1) If this has been going on for a year, it's to be expected that it's starting to wear on you. Feelings of anxiety and depression become an issue beyond the original question. Turn to things that help with a sense of well-being.

2) My experience on both sides of healthcare is this: the secret is to not give up... keep looking. Somebody out there knows what you need.

Try one more ENT -ear, nose and throat specialist. My friend with vertigo told me she did wake up feeling dizzy from it.

yea I think I am going to go to the doctors to see what they have to say....I mean I have been to an ent who speicalized in balance and vertigo disorder and he told me he didn't think it was any vertigo ear related...so I think i have to believe him...and its weird b/c it doesn't happen everyday or every month or every week...idk...I am just depressed and tired of worrying about being dizzy and I am tired of being tired... I can't do this anymore.

Yea, that's why you have to take care of yourself... so you can raise your head up and try again. Something that really helps with sleep is 20 minutes of exercise before bed.

And I used to be a massage therapist... so I must advise it ( ) ask around for a good massage therapist and if only a 30 minute massage focused on relaxation... it's worth it.

And then back at it to find that doctor who knows about your situation.

yea I guess I should get some massages or something. I just don't want it to be something that I can't get rid off...I hate living like this.

A few obvious things you might want to check:

Check the level of your bed. Is the head higher, lower or level with the foot of the bed? Sometimes a leg on the bed frame can get bent out of shape causing the head to be lower. If everything appears level, you might consider adding a couple wooden blocks under the legs at the head of the bed to raise the head slightly above the feet.

Also, try changing pillows. The height and firmness of the pillow could be causing your neck pains and dizzy episodes. If it has been a while since you laundered or replaced the pillow, you should do that too. Pillows collect a lot of bacteria and allergens.

yea...maybe I will try that...I just hope it doesn't happen again. I need sleep

Sounds like you have a pinched nerve in your neck.

Hi Olivia, sounds like I have the same problem. Has your dizziness got better?
I have had dizzy spells for the last 7 nights now. Sometimes stronger than others. Very similar to yours. Seen doc she seems to rule out BPPV too as it happens during the night not necessarily when I move. Doc thought it could be a viral infection affecting inner ear but first vertigo started over 3 weeks ago now. During my sleep I had about 5 full on vertigos with massive head spins and when I opened my eyes, the room was spinning, that was about 3 wks ago. Now it seems to be more dizziness during my sleep. Nothing during the day although maybe slightly lightheaded but I think like you I am over-thinking it...
Let me know if you got any further info. I am going back to doc on Monday and will ask for ENT and/or neurologist referal...
Need some sleep too.
AC

A friend of mine, a doctor, had dizzy spells for some time; he went finally for what I think is the Epley Manuver and is now fine. I assume this is the manuver where the head is moved around in order to reposition "crystal" in the ear.
I sometimes, when I lie down for an afternoon nap and close my eyes I get what has been described as positional vertigo. The room spins, but when I open my eyes all spinning stops.