Waking Up With Headaches Every Morning? Here Are Some Possible Causes

We all have that one friend who wakes up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 5 a.m., and if you are that friend, more power to you. For some of us, the day greets you like a ball bat to the face — you’re yanked from a REM cycle by your kid puking in bed, you forgot to wash school uniforms last night, and seriously, why is your head pounding? If you find yourself waking up with headaches every morning, it’s a good idea to call your doctor and stay off of Google, which will just make you catastrophize (it’s not a brain tumor; you’re good).

That said, it’s not normal to wake up with a headache, according to Dr. Timothy Collins, professor of neurology and chief of the headache and pain division at Duke Health. “If someone’s waking up a handful of times a month with a headache, that’s probably not concerning at all. But if they’re waking up several days out of the week with a headache, and especially if they’ve never had headaches in the past, there’s a bunch of stuff that they can talk with their doctors about, and it’s probably worth seeing a neurologist or a headache specialist,” Collins says.

Migraines

The most common reason for someone to wake up with headaches often is because they suffer from migraines, according to Collins.

“It’s actually relatively common for people with migraine headaches to wake up occasionally with a typical migraine. I see people on a regular basis in my clinic who have migraine headaches … the reason they’re coming in is they’re freaked out that they’ve woken up in the morning with a headache several times in the last month, and they’ve Googled that and they’re worried they’ve got a brain tumor or something terrible,” he says.

So, even if you’ve never been diagnosed with migraines, it’s worth talking to your doctor about whether they might be the cause of your morning headaches. That’s far more likely than a brain tumor. That said, migraines tend to develop earlier in life. If you’ve never been headache-prone before and are having them now in your late 40s or early 50s, there are other possible causes to bring up with your provider.

Sleep apnea

People with sleep apnea don’t breathe correctly during the night. Collins says this results in low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide in the body due to impaired breathing, so they frequently wake up with a headache in the morning that fades off around lunchtime.

You might have some other signs of sleep apnea, like your partner mentioning that you snore or sound like you’re choking at night, but Collins notes that solo sleepers could have this condition and simply not know until morning headaches clue them in.

Alcohol consumption

The body’s sensitivity to alcohol increases with age (which is why you don’t have the tolerance you did in your early 20s). “Depending on how sensitive people are to alcohol, even a single drink can cause some people to wake up in the morning with a headache that’s essentially a hangover headache,” says Collins. “If you’re having something to drink every night and waking up every morning with a headache, that may be something you can modify on your own.”

Sleep deprivation

If you’re often awake at all hours of the night — as many parents are — it’s not uncommon to wake up with headaches, Collins says. Chronic pain, restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, or any other condition that affects the quality of your sleep could also lead to your head pounding in the mornings.

Sleep aids

Some medications can give people headaches as a side effect, Collins explains, including common sleep aids — the timing of taking them right before bed could be why you wake up with head pain. Only a small percentage of people who take these medications experience headaches, but still, it’s worth thinking about. Some medications known to do this include trazodone, amitriptyline, and Ambien, he says.

Things that are not causing your morning headaches

If you’re not someone who gets headaches often, waking up with them multiple times in a short period of time can be scary. Collins says people usually jump to the worst-case scenario of why they get morning headaches all of a sudden, or they assume it’s a super easily remedied reason. But rest assured, these reasons are highly unlikely to be the culprit:

A brain tumor. “Brain tumors are really, really rare, and headache is the least common symptom of brain tumor,” he says.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This is a rare condition in which a high amount of pressure around the brain causes headaches and vision issues, and it’s one people Googling about their new headaches tend to come across and fret about, Collins says. Again, it’s very rare and likely not your issue.
Dehydration. While your partner might chide you to drink more water during the day, Collins says it’d be “pretty unusual” for low water intake alone to give you morning headaches. If you had no water, just wine, at dinner, circle back to the recommendation to cut out alcohol for a bit to see if that helps.
Your pillow. Collins says your bedding situation is “certainly not the cause of waking up in the morning with a headache. “I’ve probably talked to a hundred or more patients who have tried more than three pillows because of their neck pain and headaches unsuccessfully, so I’m not sure that’s particularly helpful,” he says.

Whatever the reason you’ve been waking up with headaches every morning, work with your doctor to figure it out. That way, you can start your days fresh. OK, maybe you’ll still stumble through the mornings a bit, but at least you’ll be pain-free.