By Marygrace Taylor, Prevention
If there's one way to guarantee a crappy start to your day, it's dragging yourself out of bed with a pounding headache.
Morning headaches are painful, annoying—and kind of confusing. You
just woke up, so what could you possibly have done to trigger your
discomfort? (Here are the five worst things you do every morning before you even leave your house.)
Turns out, there are plenty of things that could be triggering it.
And while not all of them may be under your control, some of them are.
Here are eight surprising causes of morning headaches, and what you should be doing to keep them away.
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You didn't get enough sleep.
Your body needs seven to eight hours to
function normally. So when you get less, it assumes something must be
wrong and starts to go into panic mode.
[post_ads]"Your fight-or-flight hormones start to kick in, resulting in an
increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and stress," says Salvatore
Napoli, MD, of the New England Center of Neurology. And all of those
things can contribute to a headache.
An over-the-counter pain med like ibuprofen or naproxen can help you
make it through the morning, says Napoli. They'll ease the pain by
reducing inflammation.
And if you still feel zonked and crappy, take a 20- to 30-minute nap,
which will give your body more of the rest it needs to function
normally. (Longer naps will probably leave you groggy, making your
headache worse.) And get back to a normal sleep cycle so you don't wake
up in pain again tomorrow.
You got too much sleep.
If not enough sleep can trigger a morning headache, spending a whole lot of time under the covers will help it, right?
Not so fast: Snoozing for more than nine hours at night is associated
with a decrease in the brain's level of the hormone serotonin, Napoli
explains. And low serotonin levels can reduce blood flow to the brain
and trigger a headache.
These kinds of headaches often tend to strike on the weekends, when you're more likely to sleep in—that's just one reason why you feel lousy when you sleep later than usual.
Ibuprofen or naproxen can ease your discomfort, but the best way to
keep them from coming back is by getting up after seven or eight hours
of snooze time, says Napoli. Setting an alarm on the weekends can help.
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Your endorphins are out of whack.
Your body's production of feel-good endorphin
hormones is at its lowest early in the morning. And for some people,
that can trigger a migraine.
Low levels of endorphins can affect levels of other
neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which cause blood vessels in the
brain to narrow, explains Mark Khorsandi, DO, of the Migraine Relief
Center in Dallas and Fort Worth. That narrowing reduces blood flow to
the brain, which can trigger head pain.
The bad news is that experts don't know why this causes headaches in
some people and not others. But working out first thing in the morning
could be one way to stop the pain, since exercise triggers the release
of endorphins, Khorsandi says.
You drank last night.
Duh: Over-indulging on alcohol can lead to a
significant headache the next morning. But you don't have to get wrecked
to feel booze's head-pounding effects.
Even a few drinks can make you dehydrated, which reduced the volume
of blood flowing to your brain. And that can make your head hurt, says
Khorsandi. Alcohol can also make it harder to get a good night's
sleep—another common headache trigger.
The best way to start feeling better is to rehydrate, Khorsandi says. Water or electrolyte drinks (like Gatorade) both work.
Vitamin C tablets or powder stirred into the water can also help your
liver process the alcohol more efficiently, getting it out of your
system faster, he says.
You snore.
Snoring like a chainsaw can be a sign of
sleep apnea, a condition that can cause you to choke, gasp for air, and
even temporarily stop breathing throughout the night while you're
asleep.
These choking episodes only last for a few seconds, but they can result in less oxygen getting to your brain, says Khorsandi.
Experts aren't totally sure why this might lead to a headache. But
some experts theorize that less oxygen could cause blood vessels in the
brain to expand, increasing blood flow and pressure in your head that
can cause pain.
You can have sleep apnea and not even realize it, especially if you
don't sleep with a partner (who might complain about your snoring).
So talk with your doctor, who'll recommend further testing if he
suspects you have sleep apnea. If you're diagnosed, a breathing machine
worn while sleeping (called continuous positive airway pressure, or
CPAP) can manage the condition and get rid of the related headaches.
You’re late with your coffee.
Caffeine is a mild drug that stimulates your
nervous system. So if you drink coffee regularly and don't get your fix
at the usual time (like if you sleep in, or if you're trying to quit
caffeine), you can feel the head-pounding effects when you wake up.
Caffeine withdrawal abruptly leads to the expansion of blood vessels
in your brain. As a result, more blood flows into your brain and exerts
more pressure, causing a headache, Napoli says.
[post_ads]You're more likely to get a caffeine headache if you're a heavy
coffee drinker or drink your coffee at the same time every morning. If
that's the case, downing a cup is the best way to feel better. And if
you're trying to kick your caffeine habit altogether, cut back
slowly—over the course of a week or two—instead of going cold turkey.
You’re depressed.
Depression-related headaches can happen at
any time of day. That's because depression is associated with lower
levels of the hormone serotonin.
But they could be particularly likely to strike in the morning. Depression can mess with your usual sleep schedule, and snoozing too much or too little can both trigger headaches, Napoli says. The pain can also have an impact on your mood, creating a vicious cycle.
OTC pain meds can help in the short term. But the best way to deal is by addressing the root cause of the problem. If you think you might be depressed, talk with your doctor. Antidepressants or therapy can help you get back to normal and solve the problems that are leading to headaches.
MORE: 7 Surprising Symptoms Of Depression In Men That Prove It's Not All About Sadness
But they could be particularly likely to strike in the morning. Depression can mess with your usual sleep schedule, and snoozing too much or too little can both trigger headaches, Napoli says. The pain can also have an impact on your mood, creating a vicious cycle.
OTC pain meds can help in the short term. But the best way to deal is by addressing the root cause of the problem. If you think you might be depressed, talk with your doctor. Antidepressants or therapy can help you get back to normal and solve the problems that are leading to headaches.
MORE: 7 Surprising Symptoms Of Depression In Men That Prove It's Not All About Sadness
You have high blood pressure.
When you have high blood pressure—defined as
140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or above—your blood is actually
exerting more pressure on your head, Khorsandi says. And that extra
pressure is a common cause of headaches.
Plenty of people who have high blood pressure don't know it, since
the condition doesn't have many outward symptoms. (Aside from headaches,
which you might attribute to something else.)
So see your doctor if your headaches are frequent and unexplainable.
If your BP is too high, she'll recommend lifestyle changes like diet and
exercise, or prescribe blood pressure medication.
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Bottom Line On Morning Headaches
Often, morning headaches are easy to fix. But
in rare instances, they could indicate a serious underlying problem,
like a brain tumor or an aneurysm.
So talk with your doctor if you're plagued by headaches frequently
(whether they happen in the morning or at other times of the day)—more
than twice a week for three to six months, Napoli says.
You should also see your doctor if your headaches are debilitating or
are affecting your life or work. She may perform an MRI or EEG (a test
that looks at electrical activity in your brain) to learn more about
what's going on in your brain or prescribe an eye exam, since headaches
can be caused by strained vision, too, says Khorsandi.
