It’s not a coincidence — headaches are more likely to occur when you’re stressed. Stress is a common trigger of tension-type headaches and migraine. It can also trigger other types of headaches or make them worse. Stress is a particularly common headache trigger in children and young adults.
A number of sleep or health disorders, as well as personal habits, can trigger a headache when you wake up. Sleep apnea, migraine, and lack of sleep are common culprits. However, teeth grinding, alcohol use, and certain medications can also cause you to wake up with a headache.
Common Headache Types by Location
Pain location | Most common cause |
---|---|
Top of your head “Hair band” area | Tension headache |
Forehead Cheeks Behind both eyes | Tension headache Migraine |
Behind one eye | Cluster headache |
Temples | Tension headache |
Anxiety headaches are another common physical symptom. If you’re stressed or worried about something, you may have tension headaches. Experiencing severe or frequent headaches can also worsen the symptoms of anxiety.
Mental or behavioral symptoms include:- Being more emotional than usual.
The link between emotional abuse and migraines
Headaches are about three times more common in women than men. While all forms of childhood maltreatment have been shown to be linked to migraines, the strongest and most significant link is with emotional abuse.
Morning headaches are common, and most of the time, there’s no reason for concern. However, if you find yourself frequently waking up with headaches, it’s important to pay attention to the type of pain you feel and if you’re experiencing any accompanying neurological symptoms.
Hypnic headaches are a rare type of headache that occurs during sleep and wakes the person up, which is why they’ve earned the nickname “alarm-clock headaches2“. The pain can keep people up for at least 15 minutes, if not longer. People who experience hypnic headaches typically have them several times a week.
A headache on the left side may result from migraine, vasculitis, cluster headaches, or other types. Often, a person can treat a headache at home with over-the-counter remedies and rest. However, if headaches are severe, persistent, or otherwise concerning, contact a healthcare professional.
What types of headache affect the right side? There are over 300 types of headache, about 90 percent of which have no known cause. However, a migraine or a cluster headache are the most likely causes of a headache on the right side of the head. Tension headaches may also cause pain on one side in some people.
What Are Tension Headaches? Tension headaches are dull pain, tightness, or pressure around your forehead or the back of your head and neck. Some people say it feels like a clamp squeezing their skull. They’re also called stress headaches, and they’re the most common type for adults.
A frontal lobe headache is when there is mild to severe pain in your forehead or temples. Most frontal lobe headaches result from stress. This type of headache usually occurs from time to time and is called episodic. But sometimes, the headaches can become chronic.
Gently massaging your head and neck muscles may provide relief. If your headaches are due to stress or anxiety, you may want to learn ways to relax. Over-the-counter pain medicine, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, may relieve pain.
Anxiety causes a heavy head feeling because of tension headaches common in people living with the disorder. Most people describe these headaches as feeling like a tight band wrapped around their heads. A tightening of the scalp and neck muscles also causes an anxiety headache.
While these symptoms are definitive of psychosis, disturbances of mood, behaviour, sleep pattern and activity also occur. Many individuals with an underlying psychological/psychiatric disorder will initially present with physical symptoms that concern them, such as tiredness, repeated headaches or insomnia.
Warnings signs of stress in adults may include:- Crying spells or bursts of anger.
Difficulty eating.
Losing interest in daily activities.
Increasing physical distress symptoms such as headaches or stomach pains.
Fatigue.
Feeling guilty, helpless, or hopeless.
Avoiding family and friends.
The five main warning signs of mental illness are as follows:- Excessive paranoia, worry, or anxiety.
Long-lasting sadness or irritability.
Extreme changes in moods.
Social withdrawal.
Dramatic changes in eating or sleeping pattern.
What does it mean when you dream of a big spider crawling on you?
Many people associate crying with feeling sad and making them feel worse, but in reality, crying can help improve your mood - emotional tears release stress hormones. Your stress level lowers when you cry, which can help you sleep better and strengthen your immune system.
Symptoms of post-traumatic headache can include sensitivity to light and noise, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, insomnia, poor concentration, fatigue and personality changes like depression or nervousness. The headache might also have a pulsating quality that worsens with activity.
The type of traumatic event a person with PTSD has experienced can increase the likelihood of headaches. For example, if you were in an accident or situation where you experienced a head injury, you might be more likely to experience problems with headaches.
The neurobiological mechanism by which PTSD is associated with migraine is not known. However, of those with episodic migraine and PTSD, 69% reported symptoms related to PTSD before the onset of severe or frequent headache.
Tension headaches
These are the most common types of headaches. They usually cause a dull pain on both sides of your head or across the front of your head, behind your eyes. Your shoulders and neck may also hurt. Tension headaches might last 20 minutes to a few hours.
Sinus headaches
An infection or allergic reaction can cause the sinuses to become inflamed, which is known as sinusitis. The swelling of the sinuses can result in a frontal headache and tenderness around the forehead, cheeks, and eyes. The characteristics of these headaches include: a dull, throbbing ache.
Thunderclap headaches live up to their name, striking suddenly like a clap of thunder. The pain of these severe headaches peaks within 60 seconds. Thunderclap headaches are uncommon, but they can warn of potentially life-threatening conditions — usually having to do with bleeding in and around the brain.
If you wake up at 3 a.m. or another time and can’t fall right back asleep, it may be for several reasons. These include lighter sleep cycles, stress, or underlying health conditions. Your 3 a.m. awakenings may occur infrequently and be nothing serious, but regular nights like this could be a sign of insomnia.