Headache on waking up

Introduction

It is an astounding fact that one out of the every 13 people wakes up with a headache.

It was also shown in studies that about 8 percent of these people have had this problem for many years. It was also reported in studies that women in between the ages of 45 and 64 suffer most from these types of chronic morning headaches.

Possible causes

Sleep apnea is a condition that leaves a lot of people without a good night’s sleep and tired throughout the day. This means that while a person is sleeping, they stop breathing for a couple of seconds, and even though it sounds strange, more than 18 million Americans suffer from this condition.

This condition often leads to morning headaches because a person feels like they have not slept at all, because the sleep was rather traumatic. It also gives people a dry throat in the morning. People who snore very loudly and wake up suddenly and startled could have sleep apnea.

Generally, a lack of good sleep will cause headaches in the morning, no matter what the reason behind not getting enough sleep seems to be.

Another habit that can disturb the sleep and lead to headaches when waking up is grinding the teeth.

When a person grinds their teeth while sleeping, the muscles of the neck and jaw are working during the night and they will hurt in the morning.

However, there is an easy remedy for this, called a nightguard, which is a soft piece of plastic that is inserted in the mouth to stop the teeth from grinding together.

People who do not snore, but sleep with someone who does, can also have headaches in the snoring. Continuous, loud snoring can cause a person to lose a lot of sleep. Studies have shown that people who sleep with someone who snores lose about 50 minutes of sleep on average every night. That is 300 hours a year!

Stress is also something that can lead to waking up with a headache.

It is important to fall asleep relaxed. People that worry about what is going to happen tomorrow, or are still worrying about something that happened over the day, will most likely wake up with a headache.

It is good to do something before bed that will help a person to relax. Reading a book, watching a television show or move, or even sex before bed is a good way to relieve stress and wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the coming day.