In an ideal world, you wake up in the morning feeling refreshed from a good night’s sleep and ready to take on your day. But in reality, morning doesn’t always feel like that.
Waking up with a headache — or having one kick in shortly after you get up — is a morning wrecker. Sometimes the fix is simple, but some morning headaches can be a warning sign of something more serious.
Types of morning headaches
Headaches are often categorized by their specific characteristics. Some types of headaches that can occur first thing in the morning include:
- Cluster headaches: These headaches typically cause intense pain on just one side of the head. The pain can last as little as 15 minutes or up to several hours. People who experience cluster headaches often get them around the same time every day.
- Hypnic headaches: This is a rare condition that affects less than 0.3% of people. These “alarm clock” headaches wake you up in the early hours and cause a dull throbbing pain on one or both sides of your head.
- Migraines: These severe headaches can be debilitating at any time of day but often occur in the morning.
- Tension headaches: This type of headache feels like a band tightening around your head.
Common causes of morning headaches
What occurs the day (and night) before you wake up with a headache may provide a clue as to why it’s happening. Some common causes may include:
- Caffeine withdrawal: If you typically head straight to the coffeemaker as soon as the alarm goes off, delaying that first cup could trigger a headache. Also, drinking too much caffeine the day before can produce a rebound headache upon waking.
- Dehydration: If you go to bed dehydrated, you’re more likely to wake up with a headache.
- Hangover: Drinking alcohol before bed can lead to dehydration and a feeling of being hung over, with an upset stomach and headache.
- Medication: Some medications, including ibuprofen, can cause headaches when taken in excess.
- Sleep position: Sleeping in a position that tweaks your neck or causes muscle strain can cause you to wake up with a headache (as well as a pain in your neck).
- Teeth grinding: The tension of grinding or clenching your teeth while you sleep often leads to morning headaches.
Could your headache be the sign of a sleep disorder?
Waking up with a headache is often a sign of disrupted sleep the night before. If you routinely have morning headaches, the cause could be an underlying — and undiagnosed — sleep disorder.
Not getting enough sleep, getting too much sleep or getting highly interrupted sleep can all lead to morning headaches. Sleep disorders that may be related to headaches include:
- Circadian rhythm disorder
- Insomnia
- Sleep apnea
Getting too much sleep (often a sign of depression or other mood disorders) can also trigger morning headaches.
When to get help for morning headaches
If you wake up with headaches on a regular basis, it’s important to talk to your doctor. A thorough physical exam combined with a comprehensive health history can help them look for clues to your headaches’ cause. Depending on the findings, your doctor might recommend further testing, adjusting existing medications or doing a sleep study.
There are also steps you can take on your own to cut down on morning headaches. Focusing on healthy habits and better sleep hygiene may help. These include:
- Avoiding or minimizing alcohol consumption before bed
- Drinking plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated
- Eating an overall healthy diet
- Keeping a regular sleep schedule
- Limiting screen time in the evening
- Taking time to wind down and relax before bed
You don’t need to take morning headaches lying down. Some healthy tweaks to your daily routine, and your doctor’s care, can help you wake up without pain.
