Why do some people experience more severe headaches when lying down. How can sleeping position affect headache intensity. What medical conditions might cause headaches to worsen at night. How to alleviate headaches that intensify when reclining.

The Physiology Behind Headaches That Worsen When Lying Down

Many individuals experience a puzzling phenomenon where their headaches intensify upon lying down or waking up in the morning. This occurrence, while counterintuitive to the common belief that rest should alleviate pain, has scientific explanations rooted in human physiology.

When we lie down, the blood vessels in our head and neck can become compressed, leading to a temporary restriction in blood flow. This compression can trigger or exacerbate headache pain. Additionally, the change in position alters blood pressure within the arteries, potentially intensifying discomfort for those prone to headaches.

Common Triggers for Headaches That Worsen at Night

• Alcohol consumption
• Pregnancy-related morning sickness
• Jet lag
• Sinus pressure
• Sleep position
• Underlying medical conditions

While occasional headaches upon waking might be attributed to lifestyle factors, persistent morning headaches warrant medical attention. They could be indicative of more serious conditions that require professional evaluation and treatment.

Medical Conditions Associated with Headaches That Worsen When Lying Down

Several medical conditions can contribute to headaches that intensify when lying down. Understanding these potential causes is crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment.

Increased Spinal Fluid Pressure

Elevated spinal fluid pressure, while challenging to monitor, can significantly impact how one feels when lying down. This condition can lead to intense headaches that worsen in a recumbent position. Can this condition be managed? In some cases, sleeping on an incline may help alleviate symptoms by reducing the pressure buildup.

Sinus Disease

Sinus infections or chronic sinus disease can cause inflammation and irritation in the head and face. This inflammation often leads to increased pressure when lying down, resulting in headaches. How does sinus disease affect sleep quality? The discomfort from sinus-related headaches can significantly disrupt sleep patterns, leading to fatigue and decreased overall well-being.

Neurological Conditions

Persistent morning headaches may be a symptom of certain neurological conditions, including migraines and epilepsy. These headaches often occur due to changes in brain activity during sleep or upon waking. Why is early diagnosis crucial for neurological conditions? Prompt identification and treatment of these conditions can significantly improve quality of life and prevent potential complications.

The Impact of Sleep Posture on Headache Intensity

Proper sleep posture plays a crucial role in preventing and alleviating headaches that worsen when lying down. Maintaining a neutral position for your head and neck during sleep can significantly reduce the likelihood of waking up with a headache.

Sleep Positions to Avoid

1. Fetal position: This position can force the shoulders forward, creating tension in the neck and potentially triggering headaches.
2. Stomach sleeping: Sleeping on your stomach often forces the neck and head into unnatural positions, leading to tension and headaches.
3. Sleeping with an arm over your head: This position can impair circulation, put pressure on nerves, and disrupt blood flow, potentially causing morning headaches.

How can one improve sleep posture to reduce headaches? Investing in a supportive pillow and mattress, along with consciously maintaining a neutral spine alignment, can significantly reduce the occurrence of sleep-related headaches.

Types of Headaches and Their Relation to Lying Down

Understanding the various types of headaches and their characteristics can help in identifying the root cause of pain that worsens when lying down. Each type of headache may respond differently to changes in position and require specific management strategies.

Cluster Headaches

Cluster headaches, a subtype of migraine, are characterized by severe, localized pain often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. These headaches can be particularly distressing when lying down due to increased blood flow to the head. How do cluster headaches differ from other types? Unlike tension headaches, cluster headaches often occur on one side of the head and may be accompanied by eye redness or tearing.

Tension Headaches

Tension headaches typically manifest as a dull, aching sensation in the back of the head. They are often caused by muscle tension in the shoulders, neck, and back. Poor sleep habits, inadequate posture, and stress can exacerbate these headaches when lying down. What lifestyle changes can help reduce tension headaches? Regular exercise, stress management techniques, and maintaining good posture throughout the day can significantly reduce the frequency and intensity of tension headaches.

Sinus Headaches

Sinus headaches result from inflammation in the sinus cavities, often accompanying infections. The pain associated with sinus headaches can intensify when lying down due to increased pressure in the sinuses. How can one alleviate sinus headache pain at night? Using a humidifier, elevating the head while sleeping, and using saline nasal sprays can help reduce sinus pressure and associated headache pain.

Strategies for Alleviating Headaches That Worsen When Lying Down

While persistent headaches that worsen when lying down should be evaluated by a healthcare professional, there are several strategies individuals can employ to manage and potentially reduce the frequency and intensity of these headaches.

Optimizing Sleep Environment

• Invest in a supportive pillow and mattress
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule
• Create a dark, quiet, and cool sleeping environment
• Limit screen time before bed to reduce eye strain

How does sleep quality affect headache prevalence? Improved sleep quality can significantly reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches, particularly those that worsen when lying down.

Lifestyle Modifications

Certain lifestyle changes can have a profound impact on reducing the occurrence of headaches that intensify when lying down:

• Stay hydrated throughout the day
• Practice stress-reduction techniques such as meditation or yoga
• Maintain a balanced diet and avoid known headache triggers
• Engage in regular physical activity

Why is a holistic approach important in managing headaches? Addressing multiple aspects of lifestyle and health can create a synergistic effect in reducing headache frequency and severity.

When to Seek Medical Attention for Headaches That Worsen When Lying Down

While occasional headaches are common, certain symptoms warrant immediate medical attention. It’s crucial to recognize the signs that indicate a potentially serious underlying condition.

Red Flags for Immediate Medical Evaluation

• Sudden, severe headache often described as the “worst headache of your life”
• Headache accompanied by fever, stiff neck, or rash
• Headache following a head injury
• Persistent headaches that worsen over time
• Headaches accompanied by vision changes, weakness, or confusion

Why is prompt medical evaluation crucial for severe or unusual headaches? Early diagnosis and treatment of underlying conditions can prevent potential complications and improve overall outcomes.

Innovative Treatments for Chronic Headaches That Worsen When Lying Down

As medical research advances, new treatments are emerging for individuals suffering from chronic headaches that intensify when lying down. These innovative approaches offer hope for those who have not found relief through conventional methods.

Neurostimulation Techniques

Neurostimulation involves the use of electrical or magnetic impulses to modulate pain signals in the nervous system. This approach has shown promise in treating various types of chronic headaches, including those that worsen when lying down. How does neurostimulation work for headache relief? By targeting specific nerve pathways, neurostimulation can interrupt pain signals and provide relief for some individuals with treatment-resistant headaches.

Precision Medicine Approaches

Precision medicine tailors treatment to an individual’s genetic profile, lifestyle, and environmental factors. This personalized approach can be particularly effective for complex headache conditions that worsen with positional changes. Why is precision medicine gaining traction in headache treatment? By identifying specific genetic markers and individual risk factors, healthcare providers can develop more targeted and effective treatment plans for chronic headache sufferers.

Advanced Imaging Techniques

Cutting-edge imaging technologies, such as functional MRI and PET scans, are providing new insights into the mechanisms behind headaches that worsen when lying down. These advanced imaging techniques allow researchers and clinicians to visualize brain activity and blood flow patterns in real-time, leading to more accurate diagnoses and targeted treatments. How do advanced imaging techniques contribute to headache management? By providing a clearer picture of the underlying causes of headaches, these technologies enable healthcare providers to develop more effective and personalized treatment strategies.

The Role of Interdisciplinary Care in Managing Complex Headache Disorders

Headaches that worsen when lying down often require a multifaceted approach to treatment. Interdisciplinary care, involving collaboration between various healthcare specialists, can provide comprehensive management for these complex headache disorders.

Key Specialists in Headache Management

• Neurologists
• Pain management specialists
• Physical therapists
• Chiropractors
• Sleep specialists
• Psychologists or psychiatrists

How does an interdisciplinary approach benefit patients with complex headache disorders? By addressing multiple aspects of the condition simultaneously, this approach can lead to more effective symptom management and improved quality of life.

Integrative Medicine Approaches

Integrative medicine combines conventional medical treatments with evidence-based complementary therapies. This holistic approach can be particularly beneficial for individuals with chronic headaches that worsen when lying down. What complementary therapies show promise in headache management? Acupuncture, mindfulness meditation, and certain herbal supplements have demonstrated potential benefits in managing various types of headaches when used in conjunction with conventional treatments.

As research in headache management continues to evolve, new insights and treatment options emerge. For individuals experiencing headaches that worsen when lying down, staying informed about the latest advancements and working closely with healthcare providers can lead to improved management and quality of life. Remember, while this information provides a comprehensive overview, it’s essential to consult with a healthcare professional for personalized advice and treatment options tailored to your specific situation.

Why Is My Headache Worse When Lying Down?

If you’ve ever woken up to a splitting headache, the feeling can be alarming. After all, aren’t headaches supposed to be relieved by lying down and sleeping? Despite conventional wisdom that lying down should help, there’s evidence to the contrary pointing towards the fact that lying down might often make your headache feel worse. Around 8 million people will visit their doctor’s office each year complaining of headache pain, and the neurologists in Tucker at AICA Tucker are familiar with almost every type of headache complaint. Here at AICA, we think it’s important for you to be able to make informed decisions about your care, so we’ve broken down some helpful information about headaches; What causes them, ways to decrease them, and things you should be on the lookout for.

Causes of Headaches

Let’s start with some basic biology to help you understand why you might be experiencing headaches while lying down or when you wake up in the morning. We know this is not the way anyone wants to wake up in the morning, and there are a few conditions that could be triggering these morning headaches.

First, when you lie down, blood vessels that run through your head and your neck can become compressed, which temporarily restricts blood flow, causing headaches. Increased blood pressure on arteries from lying down can increase headache pain.

Before consulting a doctor about your morning headache, take stock to see if the following may be contributing to your morning headache: consuming alcohol the previous night, morning sickness from pregnancy, or jet lag. These are common reasons you could be experiencing headaches in the morning and aren’t medical conditions. But, if your headaches persist regularly, it’s wise to get in touch with your doctor. Some conditions that would necessitate seeing a doctor include:

• Increase in Spinal Fluid Pressure – It’s difficult to monitor this pressure, but it can greatly affect how you feel when you lay down. While it may be tough to say conclusively that your headache is coming from an increase in spinal fluid pressure, you can change your sleeping position to sleep on an incline to try to avoid pain when you lay down.
• Sinus Disease– You’re probably familiar with the pain and discomfort caused by sinus pressure from infection or chronic sinus disease. These problems can cause inflammation and irritation, with much of that happening in your head and face. This can cause you to experience headaches when you lie down.
• Brain Diseases– Headaches in the morning when you wake up are symptoms of certain neurological and brain diseases. If you have ongoing morning headaches, it’s important to get these checked out immediately as they could signal a more serious condition like migraines or epilepsy.

Improving Sleep to Decrease Headaches

If there’s one thing we know to be important at AICA Tucker, it’s posture. Our comprehensive care team includes chiropractors and physical therapists who can help assess your posture during the day and while you sleep, bringing about huge impacts on your health. When sleeping, it’s best to support your head and neck in a neutral position. Keeping your spine aligned and relaxed will help keep morning headaches at bay if sleep position is the problem. There are also a few sleep positions to avoid if you’re waking up with headaches:

• Fetal position – Even though it feels good, this position can force your shoulders forward, causing tension in your neck, and resulting in a morning headache.
• Stomach sleeping- Again, even though this can feel good, sleeping on your stomach can force your neck and head to twist in unusual ways, which also brings on morning headaches as a result of the tension during the night.
•  Sleeping with an arm over your head- This position can cut off circulation, put pressure on your nerves, and interrupt blood flow, which can cause you painful headaches in the morning.

Types of Headaches

There are many different kinds of headaches, with various underlying causes and triggers. It’s important to understand each of these types of headaches so your medical provider can help you assess whether or not they might be the cause of any pain you feel when you lie down or any headaches you might be experiencing when you wake up.

• Cluster Headaches – Cluster headaches are a subtype of migraine headaches that exhibit a particular type of pain and sometimes nausea and vomiting.
• Tension Headaches – Tension headaches are often felt in the back of the head and are caused by tensions in the shoulders, head, neck, and back. Lack of sleep, bad posture, bad diet, and poor exercise habits can lead to pain when lying down.
• Sinus Headaches – As its name suggests, sinus headaches stem from inflammation of the sinuses and usually accompany an infection. These headaches are often part of a suite of other symptoms like nasal congestion, cough, and fever. The pain of sinus headaches can be felt between the eyes or between the ears and your forehead. It can be dull or sharp.
• Migraine Headaches – Nearly 1 in 5 people will experience migraines in their lifetime. These common and disruptive headaches can range in severity and symptoms. Most people experience symptoms in the head, eyes, and jaw.
• Cervicogenic Headaches- This particular type of headache differs from other types of headaches because it starts in the neck and back muscles instead of in the head or neck like other disorders. This kind of headache may be caused or made worse by stress or anxiety, and it may result in the muscles around your neck and back tensing up. Poor sleep posture (like on your stomach) can aggravate this type of headache and make it worse.

Ways to Decrease Morning Headaches

As we mentioned, there are a few common triggers that can cause morning headaches. These include alcohol consumption, jet lag, morning sickness, teeth grinding, caffeine intake, and excessive screen time, for example. These triggers don’t necessarily have any underlying medical issues but can cause morning headaches. In order to decrease your instances of waking up with a throbbing headache, here are a few tips:

Practice good sleep habits

Good sleep habits sound like something to roll your eyes at, but these little habits can add up to big, pain-free results. These habits include going to bed at the same time daily, avoiding napping, avoiding drugs, alcohol, or large meals before bed, avoiding caffeine close to bedtime, exercising for 30 minutes every day, limiting screen time right before bed, if you can’t sleep, get up and go to another room.

Change your pillow or sleep position

Finding the right pillow, one that’s not too hard or stiff, but still provides some support, is key. Arranging these pillows in a way that is supportive will help you sleep better and hopefully prevent headaches. Side and back sleeping are superior to stomach sleeping.

Pain relief

If you need help with pain relief through over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen, know that in moderation, this can be an effective way to manage headaches. However, you should not be relying on pain medication any longer than two weeks.

Seek out medical advice

Sometimes, the tips and tricks don’t work to resolve or relieve any of the pain felt when lying down or when waking up. This is why it’s important to know the causes of headaches, types of headaches, and ways in which you could potentially help yourself when it comes to keeping headaches at bay. But, everyone has their limits, and it’s important to seek medical care and advice if morning headaches persist.

Serious Conditions that Can Cause Headaches

In some cases, having pain when you lie down can be an indication of something more serious. These should be discussed and diagnosed only with a medical professional. Be aware of the following conditions, as they could be underlying causes for morning headaches. These conditions can be dangerous and life-threatening if left untreated. These conditions are rare.

• Stroke- Headaches can be a product of a stroke, which is the most common cause of brain damage. Strokes can also result in various behavioral changes, both physical and mental, but the most common symptom of a stroke is a headache.
• High Blood Pressure – Headaches associated with high blood pressure can be incredibly dangerous and even cause shock. Symptoms of a high blood pressure-related headache are throbbing in the temples, forehead, or neck, a tight feeling in the head, severe itching of eyelids, and sometimes a nosebleed.
• Brain Tumor – On rare occasions, you can develop headaches from a brain tumor that is pressing against the brain or against the base of the skull. As a tumor grows, it can put increased pressure on the brain or skull, resulting in headaches that grow worse over time, or it can result in sudden pain and loss of consciousness.
• Cluster Headaches – As previously mentioned, cluster headaches are a type of migraine recognized by their severe, recurring headaches without any diagnosable cause. The pain from cluster headaches can present as severe, sometimes pulsating, throbbing, or sharp.

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If you’re experiencing migraine every night, it could also be a tension, cluster, or hypnic headache. See your doctor to determine the headache type and get the right treatment.

Maybe they start after dinner, just as you’re winding down for the night. Maybe they happen just before your head hits the pillow. Maybe they even wake you up in the middle of the night. Regardless of their timing, headaches at night are frustrating.

When they interfere with sleep, nighttime headaches can lead to additional problems the next day, such as grogginess and irritability.

Read on to learn about the potential causes of a headache at night and what you can do about them.

Tension headaches

Almost everyone experiences a tension headache at some point. The pain associated with them ranges from mild to severe.

Experts aren’t sure about the exact cause of tension headaches, but they’re often triggered by stress, exhaustion, and muscle tension. These can all pop up at the end of a long day.

For some, teeth grinding also triggers a tension headache. If the headache is severe enough, it could wake you up.

Additional signs of a tension headache include:

• dull, aching, or squeezing head pain
• pain on both sides of the head or forehead
• tenderness in your neck, shoulders, and scalp
• a sense of tightness or pressure around your head

Learn more about tension headaches.

Cluster headaches

Cluster headaches are an extremely painful type of headache that occurs in clusters.

People who get them report feeling like they have an ice pick jammed in their eye. They’re called cluster headaches because they tend to occur several times within the span of several weeks or months before disappearing for a while.

For many, cluster headaches often start at night, usually a few hours before going to bed. Other symptoms include:

• excruciating head pain, usually around one eye
• headaches that happen repeatedly at the same time of day
• pain that begins on one side of the head but radiates outward
• redness, swelling, drooping, or tearing in the affected eye
• a stuffy or runny nose on one side
• pale skin or flushing
• trouble sitting still during the attack

No one’s sure what causes cluster headaches, and they don’t appear to have any triggers. Read more about cluster headaches.

Migraines

Migraines cause severe attacks of head pain accompanied by other symptoms.

Other symptoms of a migraine include:

• nausea or vomiting
• seeing flashes of light
• extreme sensitivity to noise and light
• blurred vision

Not sure if your symptoms point to a migraine or a headache? Learn more about the differences between the two.

Migraines are often triggered by certain things, including:

• hormonal changes around your period, pregnancy, or menopause
• changes in the weather and barometric pressure
• certain foods and food additives
• changes in sleep patterns
• stress
• sensory stimuli, like smells, sounds, or lights

If you’re not sure what’s triggering your migraine, try keeping a log of every time you experience one. Note the time of day, what you were doing, the weather, and any other information that might help you narrow down your triggers. Try to keep an eye out for these triggers.

Hypnic headache

A hypnic headache is the only type of headache that occurs exclusively at night. It’s often called an alarm clock headache because it only happens when someone is sleeping. They also tend to happen at the same time every night.

Hypnic headaches are rare and typically begin after age 50.

Pain can range from mild to severe and usually occurs on both sides of the head. Other symptoms include:

• waking up with a headache more than 10 nights per month
• a headache that lasts for 15 minutes to 4 hours after waking up
• nausea and vomiting, in some cases

Like cluster headaches, experts aren’t sure what causes hypnic headaches, and they don’t have any known triggers.

While some headaches have unique features that make them easy to diagnose, most headaches aren’t that straightforward.

If you regularly get headaches at night and you’re not sure why, it may be worth making an appointment with your doctor. They can help you narrow down the type of headache you have or rule out any underlying conditions that might be causing them.

To do this, they’ll likely ask you a series of questions. These might be about:

• The severity of your pain: Do your headaches wake you up at night? Do they keep you awake? How much sleep are you losing due to headaches? Is it the worst pain you’ve ever experienced?
• The type of pain you experience: Is the pain dull and aching? Sharp and stabbing? Does it feel like your eye is burning? Is it throbbing, pulsating, or steady?
• The location of your pain: Does it affect one side of your head or both? Does it affect the forehead only, or the back and sides of your head too? Does the pain radiate to your neck or shoulders? Is the pain focused around one eye?
• Any accompanying symptoms: Do you experience nausea or vomiting? Do you feel dizzy or extra sensitive to light and sound?
• Any warning signs: Do you have symptoms — such as visual disturbances or mood changes — prior to your headaches?
• Possible triggers: Have you noticed that your headaches happen on nights that you eat certain foods? Do they happen during unusual weather? Do your symptoms coincide with any patterns in your menstrual cycle?
• The timing of your headaches: Do they happen only when you’re asleep? Do they happen at the same time every night?
• The duration of your symptoms: How long have these headaches been happening? When was the first one? Have you had headaches at any other point in your life?
• What helps and doesn’t help: Does anything make your headache feel better or worse?

Keeping these questions in mind, prepare a headache diary for your doctor. For about two weeks prior to your appointment, document every headache you have. Make sure to include all the details about pain characteristics, timing, triggers, and so on.

Over-the-counter treatment

Treating headaches at night usually depends on the type of headache you have. If you’re not sure about the type of headache you have, start with an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, such as ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol).

If these don’t provide any relief, you can try a pain reliever that contains aspirin and caffeine. You can often find this combination in OTC migraine medications, such as Excedrin Migraine.

Caffeine is also one of the more common treatments for hypnic headaches. If you have symptoms of a hypnic headache, try taking a caffeine supplement or drinking a cup of coffee before bed. For people with true hypnic headaches, this usually doesn’t cause any sleep problems.

Taking a melatonin supplement at night might also help with hypnic and cluster headaches. Shop for melatonin online.

If you think you might be getting tension headaches, you can also try to add some stress-reduction techniques to your daily schedule. Try to set aside at least 5 to 10 minutes when you get home from work to do some controlled breathing or yoga.

Even a quick walk around the block can help to relieve stress and muscle tension.

Prescription treatment

If OTC pain relievers and relaxation don’t provide any relief, your doctor might prescribe additional treatment.

There are several oral medications you can take, which include:

• Triptans. These are medications that constrict blood vessels and block pain pathways to treat migraines. They can also help with chronic tension headaches and cluster headaches.
• Prescription pain-relievers. If you have intense pain, your doctor might suggest taking a stronger opioid-containing pain reliever.
• Ergots. These belong to an older class of medications that can help with chronic migraines.
• Beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers. These medications are commonly used to treat high blood pressure, but they can also help to prevent migraines and cluster headaches.
• Antidepressants. Although generally used for mental health conditions, antidepressants can also be effective for preventing migraines.
• Anti-seizure drugs. Some doctors recommend anti-seizure drugs to prevent chronic migraines, but they can cause many side effects.
• Lithium. This is another medication traditionally used for mental health conditions. It can also help treat or prevent hypnic and cluster headaches.
• Corticosteroids. These can provide short-term treatment during an intense period of cluster headaches.
• Indomethacin. This medication is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that can help to prevent hypnic headaches.

There are also several injections that may help:

• Botox. Most often used to treat facial lines and wrinkles, Botox is also approved for the treatment of migraines. Learn more about how it works.
• Nerve blocks. These are injections of anesthetics and corticosteroids that can help to prevent migraines and cluster headaches.
• Octreotide. This is an injectable form of a synthetic brain hormone that helps to prevent cluster headaches in some people.
• Erenumab-aooe (Aimovig). The newest class of migraine medication, this medicine works to inhibit the role of molecules associated with migraines.
• Triptans. While there are oral triptans, an injectable form called Imitrex may help to treat migraines and cluster headaches.

For cluster headaches, your doctor may also recommend:

• Lidocaine. This is a local numbing agent that comes in the form of a nasal spray.
• Oxygen. Inhaling pure oxygen may help reduce the pain of a cluster headache.

Headaches at night usually aren’t a sign of anything serious. However, it’s best to seek immediate treatment if your headache doesn’t feel like any other you’ve had before. You should also get immediate help if your headache is accompanied by:

• trouble speaking
• trouble seeing
• loss of balance
• confusion
• fainting
• high fever
• an unusually stiff neck
• numbness or weakness on one side of the body

Headache at night. Causes of nocturnal head region during sleep.

Headache at night. Causes of nocturnal head region during sleep.

Gimranov Rinat Fazylzhanovich
Neurologist, neurophysiologist, experience – 33 years;
Professor of Neurology, MD;
Clinic for Rehabilitation Neurology. About the author

Publication date: March 23, 2021

Updated: March 25, 2021

Pain prevents sleep, exhausts, debilitates and seriously reduces the quality of life if the attacks are repeated regularly. At the same time, there are many reasons for this condition: from an unsuitable pillow to serious, life-threatening diseases.

As a rule, if you wake up at night with a headache, the problem is solved quickly, you just need to remove the negative factor. However, one should not refuse a full-fledged diagnosis in the presence of other symptoms [1]. This will allow you to determine the presence of a possible disease at the initial stages of its development and start treatment on time.

Article content:

• 1 Causes
  • 1.1 Sleep problems
  • 1.2 Overload
  • 1.3 Oxygen starvation
  • 1.4 Psychoemotional stress
  • 1.5 Problems with the spine
  • 1.6 Hypertension, temporary or permanent
  • 1.7 Diabetes mellitus
  • 1.8 Stroke

  9002 5

• 2 Diagnosis
• 3 Treatment
• 4 References

Causes

Determine why at night during sleep or before it has a headache, you can try it yourself. To do this, look around yourself for negative factors that can lead to such symptoms and eliminate them.

Let’s take a closer look at the common causes of nighttime headaches in an adult or a child.

Sleep problems

A bed or pillow plays a major role in a person’s rest and the occurrence of unpleasant sensations associated with it.

An incorrectly sized pillow can even lead to migraine attacks in children in certain cases.

To find out if the mattress is the cause of your feeling unwell, you need to spend 3-5 nights in bed with other accessories. It is possible that unpleasant symptoms will disappear along with insomnia [2].

Overload

Regular mental overexertion and insufficient rest time.

With everyday heavy workloads, a large amount of intellectual work without the necessary rest, switching activities and breaks, against the background of a too short sleep period, a person will face situations when a head hurts at night during sleep or when waking up.

Oxygen starvation

The lack of the necessary resource for the normal functioning of the brain can be provoked by both external and internal causes.

In some cases, the fault is the poor ventilation of the room. Then organize an influx of fresh air into the bedroom before going to bed.

In others, breathing difficulties are the root of the problem. The cause is a disease of the respiratory tract or an abnormal structure of the nasal passages.

Psychoemotional stress

Many people are familiar with regular stress or developed depression. The impact of psychosomatic states on the physical health of a person is a well-known phenomenon [3].

This will result in a situation where the head hurts at night and interferes with normal good rest.

The mechanism is such that pain in the back and neck becomes a manifestation of spinal pathologies.

To avoid them, a person is constantly forced to take an uncomfortable position, leading to abnormal muscle tension, and during sleep this affects, manifesting itself as headaches.

Hypertension, temporary or permanent

Increased blood pressure due to illness, vegetative-vascular dystonia or external factors such as overheating, work in a forced position, stress. In this case, the pain will pass if you take drugs that normalize blood pressure.

Diabetes mellitus

Unpleasant sensations begin with a sharp drop in blood glucose levels due to the use of an excessive dose of insulin or a strong feeling of hunger. Simultaneously with the headache, other symptoms characteristic of this chronic disease also appear.

Stroke

Ischemic at night may not be noticed. As a rule, pain is manifested by hemorrhage – hemorrhagic stroke.

Severe pain in the brain even during sleep may indicate a developed stroke [4]. The further life and health of a person depends on how quickly medical care is provided.

Other causes of headaches during sleep at night in adults and children are migraines. Rarely – gradually progressive tumors. At the same time, unpleasant symptoms will not disappear after waking up. On the contrary: during the day with daily activity will intensify.

Diagnosis

To decide what to do if you have a headache at night, you need to determine the frequency of symptoms.

A single episode, when the condition occurred only once, then it is enough to drink painkillers. Or normalize blood pressure, if the cause was its increase. In the morning, there will be no trace of malaise.

If pain occurs regularly, you should consult a doctor. It is required to find out and eliminate the cause of systematic discomfort.

Diagnosis, in case of such complaints, consists of the following stages:

• Preliminary examination and questioning. The doctor not only compiles a complete list of the symptoms that have arisen, but also clarifies the circumstances of the incident. Finds out the presence of chronic diseases that could cause nocturnal headaches.
• Consultation with related doctors: neurologist, psychotherapist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist. It is carried out with suspicion of the presence of relevant pathologies.

• Studies characterizing the chemical composition of blood, the position and characteristics of the cervical spine [5]. Assess the condition of large vessels, narrowing of the small arteries of the brain. A blood test, ultrasound of the cervical and cerebral vessels, electromyography are prescribed.

After receiving the test results, the doctor will be able to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe therapy. If there is a need.

Treatment

It is possible to prescribe treatment only after it is precisely determined why the head starts to hurt at night. Since there are a lot of reasons for the occurrence of such a state.

To reduce the likelihood of the return of unpleasant sensations, preventive actions will help:

• reduce the consumption of coffee, energy drinks in the evening;
• increase the number of hours of sleep to 8 daily;
• to ventilate the room during a long stay in it;
• organize regular outdoor walks;
• reduce psychological stress;
• pick up comfortable orthopedic mattresses and pillows.

The effectiveness of biofeedback sessions in the treatment of such patients has been proven [6].

Compliance with the doctor’s recommendations will help get rid of nocturnal pain backache. The main thing is to make sure that their causes are not associated with the progression of severe pathology.

References

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Headache in the morning after sleep: why and what to do, advice from a neurologist

If you are worried about morning headache, you cannot ignore this symptom, as it can be a trigger for serious health problems. Why does my head hurt in the morning and what to do about it? Today we will look at the main reasons why you may have a headache and try to figure out how to get rid of this problem.

“When a person complains of a headache, the doctor’s task is to determine the patient’s state of health, whether there are any disorders in the body. A signal that a morning headache is a sign of a serious illness is weakness in the arms, the presence of vomiting and nausea, fever, or a change in gait. If you have a headache in the morning and there are no accompanying symptoms, most likely, you just need to adjust your daily routine to go to bed and get up at the same time, and also walk more often in the fresh air ”- a neuropathologist of the highest category, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, National Medical University named after N.I. A. A. Bogomolets, Candidate of Medical Sciences – Vladimir Melnik.

Main causes of morning headache

Headache is one of the most common symptoms in the world, and if it does not occur as a separate disease, it always becomes a harbinger of some disturbance in the body. The exception is cases when pain in the head in the morning occurs against the background of drinking alcohol-containing drinks the day before, which is a normal reaction of the body to intoxication. However, if you did not drink alcohol and slept enough, but still feel a headache, this may indicate the presence of certain diseases or that something is wrong with your sleeping place.

Cause of morning headache #1

“Too little or too much sleep”

The body needs seven to eight hours of sleep to recover. If it becomes much smaller, it goes into safe mode and begins to produce hormones – cortisol and norepinephrine. The pulse and blood pressure increase, and headaches often occur as a result. American scientists examined 1480 people complaining of frequent headaches. In 50 percent of patients, migraines were caused by sleep disorders. In addition, all people who regularly sleep only 6 hours experienced severe headaches.

After a bad night’s sleep, it is best to walk more during the day and sleep for 20-30 minutes (longer sleep is not recommended, as your body will not be in a natural biological rhythm, problems with falling asleep may begin, and the subsequent situation with insomnia and headache will recur). The opposite situation is too long sleep, which, in turn, is also bad.

“Serotonin levels drop during sleep that lasts more than nine hours, and this reduces blood flow to the brain and often causes headaches,” Dr. Salvatore from the New England Neurological Center (USA).

Consultants of orthopedic salons ORTO SMART – Medtechnika, orthosalon in Dnipro, Kiev, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Vinnitsa and other cities of Ukraine, will be able to help you in more detail in solving headache problems, and will be able to advise you on suitable orthopedic products.

Cause of morning headache #2

“Lack of happy hormones”

The hormones of joy, or hormones of happiness, which are so often found in colloquial speech, are called endorphins. This is a special type of hormones in the human body that are responsible for the normal psycho-emotional balance of the nervous system. According to studies, endorphins are at their lowest in the morning, and in some people this triggers a migraine. Low levels of endorphins affect the levels of other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which causes blood vessels in the brain to constrict. This constriction reduces blood flow to the organ, which can cause headaches in some patients,” explains Dr. Mark Khorsandy of the Dallas Migraine Care Center. Morning exercises will help to correct this picture, which will equip the body with a surge of endorphins.

Cause of morning headache #3

Bruxism

Some people have a neurological problem called bruxism. According to Wikipedia, bruxism is teeth grinding. Such a pathology can occur in a person at night and adversely affects the health of the teeth and temporomandibular joints. Bruxism can occur against the background of chronic stress, mental stress, or be formed as a result of violations of the central and peripheral systems.

Bruxism affects about forty percent of the population of our country, and this is a very impressive figure. It is bruxism that can be one of the likely causes of morning headaches. Symptoms of bruxism are:

• Morning headache;
• Toothache;
• Morning discomfort in ears and neck.

If bruxism is suspected, a neurologist or dentist should be consulted. In dental practice, special splints are used that protect teeth from pressure and eliminate reflex jaw clamps.

Interesting fact! Incorrect bite can also cause morning headaches. The pain in this case is localized around the cheeks and occurs as a result of overloading the temporomandibular joints. To fix this problem, contact your dentist.

Cause of morning headache #4

Pain medication abuse

Morning headaches can occur if you are taking pain medication. These include acetylsalicylic acid, paracetamol and psychotropic drugs.

“Analgesic abuse is an important risk factor that increases the incidence of headaches; taking these drugs can also turn episodic pain (less than 15 times per month) into chronic pain (more than 15 episodes of headache per month for at least 3 months),” researchers at the International Association for the Study of Pain report.

That is why painkillers should be used strictly in metered amounts and only as prescribed by a doctor.

Cause of morning headache #5

“Hypertension”

A huge number of Ukrainians suffer from hypertension, and this disease affects all age groups. Hypertension affects not only the elderly and overweight people, but also young people with normal body weight. They are usually unaware of their illness because hypertension, especially in the early stages of the disease, is not always apparent. Morning headache in this case can be the first signal of hypertension, especially if it appears in the back of the head and is accompanied by tinnitus. Doctors explain this process by the narrowing of blood vessels and increased pressure.

Cause of morning headache #6

“Hormonal changes”

Migraine that occurs in the morning (nearly half of the attacks occur between 4 and 9 am) affects women three times more often than men. This is due to changes in the level of female sex hormones.

Headaches also occur in 30 percent of patients with hypothyroidism (deficiency of thyroid hormones), however, they quickly disappear after hormonal treatment. The headache associated with hypothyroidism is usually continuous, bilateral, throbbing or non-throbbing.

Cause of morning headache #7

“Sinus Problems”

Painful sinuses can cause headaches, especially in the morning. The mucus that remains in the sinuses is a substrate for microbes. When inflammation of the sinus mucosa occurs, the resulting edema puts pressure on the nerve endings, causing pain. Diagnosing this problem is quite simple – the pain increases when the head is tilted and disappears after washing and cleaning the sinuses.

Cause of morning headache #8

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea is a pause in breathing during sleep that can last for more than ten seconds and cause headaches in the morning. In addition to the headache, when you wake up, you will feel weak and irritable, and during the day you will have trouble concentrating. The problem with this condition is that you can experience sleep apnea and not even be aware of it unless you sleep with a partner who can see it. Obstructive sleep apnea is often accompanied by snoring.

Cause of Morning Headache #9

“Dehydration”

Even a small lack of water in the body can disrupt well-being. If during the day you do not drink enough water, then after night the body will suffer greatly. How does poor hydration cause a headache? There is a theory that the loss of water in the body provokes tension in the blood vessels in the head, the blood is not sufficiently saturated with oxygen, which activates pain in the head. Remember to drink at least 2-2.5 liters of water throughout the day.

Cause of morning headache #10

“Incorrectly organized sleeping place”

If you sleep on an ordinary pillow, it is not surprising that you experience a headache in the morning. Pillows are usually made from materials that do not have optimal rigidity and do not correspond to the anatomical structure of our body.