Waking up in the morning with a headache can ruin your day and prevent you from doing your work effectively. But what could be the cause of this headache? It seems that many factors can cause this headache. Some of them are controllable by you and some are uncontrollable.
8 reasons for waking up with a headache and how to prevent it:
1. You haven’t had enough sleep
Your body normally needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Therefore, when you sleep less, it assumes that there is something wrong and goes into anxiety mode.
According to Dr. Salvatore Napoli from the New England Neurologist Center, “your fight-or-flight hormones start to be secreted, as a result, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases, and you become stressed.” And all these can cause headaches.
According to Napoli, an over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen or naproxen can help relieve this morning headache. These analgesics reduce pain by reducing inflammation.
And if it still feels uncomfortable, take a 20 to 30 minute nap to give your body more rest time to perform its normal functions. (You should not take more naps because a longer nap will probably make you tired and your headache will get worse.) And from now on, return to the normal sleep cycle so that you don’t wake up with a headache the next morning.
2. You sleep too much
If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll get morning headaches, so you might think that if you get more sleep, you won’t get this problem, right? Don’t go too fast: sleeping more than 9 hours a night reduces the level of serotonin hormone (good feeling hormone) in the brain. And low serotonin levels can lead to reduced blood flow to the brain and cause headaches.
This type of headache usually occurs on the weekends when you tend to sleep in more – which is just one of the reasons why you feel bad when you go to bed later than usual. Ibuprofen or naproxen can relieve your pain, but the best way to prevent these pains from returning is to wake up after 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Setting an alarm on weekends can help you in this regard.
3. Your body’s endorphins have decreased
The production of endorphin, which is the feel-good hormone, is at its lowest in the morning. And for some people, this can cause migraines. Dr. Mark Khorsandi of the Migraine Treatment Center in Dallas and Fort Worth explains: Low levels of endorphins can affect the level of other neurotransmitters such as serotonin. which reduces the blood flow to the brain vessels. This decrease in blood flow to the brain can cause headaches.
The bad news is that experts don’t know why this mechanism causes headaches in only some people. But exercising in the morning immediately after waking up can be a way to stop this pain because exercise causes the release of endorphins.
4. You drank too much alcohol the night before
Excessive consumption of an alcoholic drink can cause a severe headache the next day. Even a small amount of alcoholic drink will reduce the water in your body and dehydrate your body, which causes a decrease in the volume of blood flow to the brain, which causes damage to the brain. your brain will According to Dr. Khorsandi, alcohol makes it harder to fall asleep—which is another cause of headaches.
The best way to feel better is to hydrate with water or *electrolyte drinks, both work. Vitamin C tablets or its powder in water also help the liver break down alcohol more effectively so that it leaves your system faster.
*Electrolytes: they basically include vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium chloride, hydrogen phosphate and hydrogen carbonate. These vitamins and minerals are essential for our survival.
5. You snort
Heavy snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea. A condition that makes you unable to breathe easily and even temporarily stop breathing in your sleep. According to Dr. Khorsandi, this breathing stop lasts only a few seconds, but it can cause a decrease in oxygen supply to your brain.
Experts are not entirely sure if this causes headaches, but some experts hypothesize that low oxygen can cause blood vessels in the brain to dilate, resulting in increased blood flow and pressure in your brain, causing pain.
You may have sleep apnea without realizing it, especially if you don’t have someone sleeping next to you to complain about your snoring. So talk to your doctor, so he can do more tests if you suspect sleep apnea. If your problem is diagnosed, you can use an inhaler while you sleep to control the condition and get rid of the associated headache.
6. Your coffee is late
Caffeine is a mild drug that stimulates your nervous system. So, if you drink coffee regularly and do not renew it in time (for example, you fall asleep or you are about to quit coffee), you may feel its effects with headache and neck pain when you wake up.
The sudden emptying of caffeine from the body leads to the expansion of the blood vessels in your brain, as a result of which more blood flow enters the brain and creates more pressure, which causes headaches.
If you drink a lot of coffee or you always drink coffee at a certain time in the morning, you are more likely to get a caffeine headache. In this case, drinking a cup of coffee is the best way to feel better. If you want to kick your caffeine habit completely, do it slowly – say over the course of one to two weeks.
7. You are depressed
Headaches associated with depression can occur at any time of the day. This is why depression is associated with low levels of the hormone serotonin.
But sometimes these headaches may happen more in the morning. Depression can disrupt your regular sleep schedule, and sleeping too much or too little can both lead to headaches. Headaches can affect your mood and create a vicious cycle.
Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers can help in the short term. But the best way to deal with this problem is to find its root. If you think you may be depressed, talk to your doctor. Antidepressant medication or therapy can get you back to normal and solve the problems that are causing your headaches.
8. Your blood pressure is high
According to Dr. Khorsandi, when your blood pressure is high (90/140 mm Hg or higher), it means that there is more pressure on your head, and this extra pressure is a common cause of headaches. Many people with high blood pressure do not know this because this condition does not have many outward symptoms. (Except for headache, which is usually associated with other things.)
Therefore, if you have frequent and unexplained headaches, consult your doctor. If your blood pressure is too high, he will recommend lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise, and prescribe special blood pressure control medications.
Conclusion on the causes of morning headache
Most morning headaches are easily manageable. But in rare cases, they may be a sign of a serious problem such as a brain tumor or an aneurysm. Therefore, if you have frequent headaches (either in the morning or at other times of the day) more than twice a week for 3 to 6 months, consult your doctor.
If your headache is debilitating or has affected your life and work, you should also consult your doctor. Your doctor may prefer to do an MRI or EEG (a test that examines the electrical activity of your brain) to better diagnose what is happening in your brain, or to test your eyes because some headaches are caused by Vision problems arise.
