Lying gaze stabilization with head nods is done on your back with a pillow under your head: you keep your eyes on one point and nod your head gently up and down without losing sight of it. The goal is for the target to stay clear while your head moves, which trains the eye and inner ear reflex that steadies your vision. Physios give it in rehab for some inner ear problems, often before the seated and standing versions. The video shows her using her raised thumb as the target.

How to do the lying gaze stabilization with head nods

Lie on your back with a pillow under your head, your legs straight and your arms resting by your sides.
Choose something to look at: a small spot on the ceiling, or your thumb with one arm held straight up above your face, which is what the video shows.
With your eyes locked on that point, gently nod your chin down a little and then tip your head back up, keeping the movement small.
If the target blurs or jumps, ease off the speed of your nodding until it stays clear, as the voice guide advises. If your vision stays blurred or doubled once your head is still, treat it as a stop sign below.
Keep nodding steadily for your set time, then stop with your head still and lie quietly until any dizziness has passed.

What you should feel

A sense of effort from your eyes as they hold the target, and possibly a brief, mild dizziness that dies away when you stop nodding.

Common mistakes

Nodding so quickly that you lose the target or it goes blurry.
Lifting your head off the pillow or jamming it back into the pillow instead of nodding smoothly.
Making the nods big when small ones do the job.
Gritting your teeth or holding your breath while you nod.

How often

A common starting point is half a minute to a minute of nodding, 3 to 5 times a day, lengthening toward 2 minutes as it gets easier. Faster nods come later, and only if the target stays sharp. Most programs pair it with other gaze exercises, which adds to the daily total. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

The dizziness becomes severe or stronger than your physio said to expect, you are being sick, or you feel faint. Stop, sit or lie still and get medical advice the same day before you do these exercises again. If you faint, it is no better after 10 minutes of keeping still, you suddenly lose hearing in one or both ears, or you are far more unsteady on your feet than usual, call emergency services.
Things look double, your vision suddenly blurs or goes, your speech slurs or becomes muddled, swallowing becomes hard, your face or lips go numb, one side of your face droops or one side of your body goes weak or numb, you suddenly become so dizzy or unsteady that you fall or cannot stand or walk, your legs suddenly give way but you do not black out (a drop attack), or you get a sudden severe headache. Stop and call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Pain builds in your neck as you nod, or pain, numbness or tingling travels into an arm or hand.

From the clinic

Start these exercises only after a doctor or vestibular physio has found the cause of your dizziness. New dizziness, or dizziness that has changed, needs checking first.

Nodding with your eyes held on a target usually brings on some dizziness. You are aiming for a mild feeling that eases within a few minutes of stopping, within the level your physio has set. If it lingers for more than about 10 minutes, make the next session gentler or shorter and let your physio know. Severe dizziness means you stop and go by the stop signs on this page.

In some inner ear problems, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, tipping the head back while lying down brings on a short burst of spinning. If that happens, stop and tell your physio before you carry on, as BPPV is usually treated in a different way. When you finish, turn onto your side and come up to sitting slowly. Give yourself a moment before you stand.

With a neck condition or after neck surgery, check with your doctor or physio before you start, and keep the nods small. If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back.

Once the target holds steady, physios usually move on to the sitting and then the standing version. For the side to side direction, see lying gaze stabilization with head turns. Seated head nods looks similar but has no fixed target, because it is a habituation exercise with a different purpose.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-26.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Lying gaze stabilization with head nods