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Why do I get dizzy when I exercise?

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

Dizziness is a defense mechanism of the body that warns you that your brain is lacking oxygen and that, therefore, you must be careful because if there is a lot of decompensation, you can pass out. This is why dizziness even though it is an unpleasant symptom, really alerts you that you should be careful what you are doing or that something is happening inside your body. This symptom can appear due to various factors and there are many who have ever become dizzy when exercising. Although dizziness is not a serious symptom, it is usually annoying and we must avoid presenting it. You are probably wondering: why do I get dizzy when I exercise and in the following FastlyHealarticle, we are going to answer this question.

Lack of exercise

Lack of exercise is one of the main causes of dizziness when you exercise. It is normal that if you have started exercising, jogging, running or any new routine, you have mild dizziness. As you practice physical activity, you will lose this feeling, so you should not be alarmed.

We recommend that, if once you start the exercise you have dizziness, reduce the intensity of the physical activity or even stop it during that day and continue the next. Your body needs to adapt to the new routine that is to come and once it does, the dizziness should go away. This means that your brain must now get used to the fact that it must share oxygen with the muscles. The adaptation process can last a few weeks, between two to three.

Dizziness from severe exercise

Another possible reason that can answer the question of “why when I exercise I get dizzy” is that you are exercising with a very high intensity or excessive physical activity. If you push yourself too hard during training, your blood pressure may suddenly jump, leading to low blood glucose ( hypoglycemia ) or dehydration , causing you to feel dizzy at that time.

It is important that you increase the intensity of the exercise progressively and that you do a good warm-up and stretch both at the beginning and at the end of the training.

Very jerky movements during exercise

The dizziness to the sports or exercise can also be caused by performing very abrupt and constant head movements. What happens in this case is that the sense of balance can be disturbed and thus lead to dizziness.

If this happens to you, it is important that you reduce the intensity of the exercise, stop for a moment to recover and avoid moving your head so abruptly in the next exercises.

Loss of electrolytes

Electrolytes are the minerals that we need within our body, since they fulfill essential functions. Among them, we have sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, among others. During exercise, these electrolytes are lost through sweat and their deficiency can cause dizziness when exercising.

The loss of electrolytes is related to dehydration and we recommend that if you think that dizziness is due to this reason, you replace them by consuming foods with salt (without exceeding the limit) or by drinking a glass of water with a small spoonful of bicarbonate before exercise, as this helps you increase endurance and prevents dizziness.

Headache and dizziness when exercising from dehydration

If you don’t hydrate properly as you exercise, dizziness and headaches, among other symptoms, are common. It is important that you hydrate correctly before and after exercise , preferably with water, as it is the best drink to hydrate yourself. Although other drinks contain water, there is nothing better than drinking it pure. With the right hydration, you will be at less risk of losing electrolytes or feeling dizzy.

Little food intake

Lack of food before exercising or eating improperly is another reason why you feel dizzy when you exercise. It is more likely that if you have not eaten for many hours you will feel dizzy. Although many specialists recommend doing exercises on an empty stomach, this recommendation is more for those people who have been training for a long time and have an established daily routine, but if you are just starting to exercise, the little or no food intake will only decompensate you And it will make you dizzy, since your body has become dependent on the intake of carbohydrates, so it will react by producing the symptoms.

It is normal for you to feel dizzy while you are adapting, especially if you have started to exercise and if, in addition, you add an intermittent fasting or ketogenic diet. We recommend that if you are new to this activity, at least at the beginning you eat food so that you avoid dizziness and you can carry out your routine activities without any problem.

Dizziness when exercising due to improper diet

There are cases in which the person consumes too much food before doing the exercises and that due to the amount of food eaten, they have dizziness. Although we recommend that you eat before exercising, it is important that the diet you follow is appropriate and that you do not abuse it because there may be an opposite effect and trigger the same symptoms.

It is preferable that before exercising, you eat light foods that do not require much processing. In the following article, you can see good foods for before training .

This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Why do I get dizzy when I exercise , we recommend that you enter our Brain and Nerves category .

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