Almost always, frequent headaches at night are symptoms of a serious problem, such as a heart attack. Therefore, urgent and effective treatment is needed. It is required to consult a neurologist, and not to self-medicate. Why the head hurts at night is described in the article.
Types of pain
Night headaches vary in time of onset and duration:
- Frequent discomfort may indicate arterial hypertension, Horton's syndrome, and vascular atherosclerosis.
- Practical cutting occurs in people with hemicrania and hypertension.
- Unilateral pain appears with hemicrania. They are observed in the frontotemporal part.
- Repeated appear with inflammation of the 5th pair of cranial nerves.
Whatever the pain, they lead to discomfort. A specialist can prescribe an effective treatment when the exact cause of the disease is identified. According to the mechanism of the appearance of pain, they can be as follows:
- Tension. In this situation, the pressure will be in the areaeye, head. This type occurs before sleep and can last from half an hour to 5-7 days.
- Cluster. Appears at the front of the head. It is a strong type of cephalgic syndromes. The pain is spontaneous, short-lived. Attacks can be from 60 minutes.
- Hypochondriacal. It arises from a strong concentration on diseases of the brain and analogous diseases. The pain appears in the evening. In the middle of the night, a person wakes up from malaise.
- Organic. It develops with pathologies in the brain, for example, with hemorrhage, tumors and other neoplasms of the brain tissue. It is observed with a strong load throughout the day. Can be used before or during bedtime.
- Temporal. Occurs with temporal arteritis. The pain radiates to the neck and shoulder. Appears in the evening and at rest.
- Cephalgic syndrome. It develops from intracranial hemorrhage, in which speech and vision are impaired, ataxia appears.
Before starting treatment, you should determine why the head hurts at night. The use of effective methods of therapy will eliminate all these types of discomfort.
Etiology of the disease
If your head hurts at night, the causes of this phenomenon are different. This comes from inflammation in the ENT organs or due to diseases of the mandibular joint. Another discomfort is observed when:
- impaired arterial and venous blood flow;
- inflammation of 5, 9, 10 pairs of cranial nerves;
- anatomical and physiological changes in the upper spine;
- brain damage;
- psychogenic and other factors.
Often pain during sleep occurs in the pathology of arterial vessels. In any case, only a doctor can determine the cause of the discomfort.
Hypotension
If a headache appears from heavy stress on the body throughout the day, then this is considered a sign of low blood pressure. To eliminate the symptom, you must consume coffee and dark chocolate.
This is a common reason for headaches at night. To normalize blood pressure, the doctor prescribes effective medications, and also provides recommendations for adjusting lifestyle.
High pressure
This is another reason why the head hurts at night and goes away in the morning. Moreover, the pressure can be arterial or intracranial. The pain is usually manifested by seizures. It usually occurs in the back of the head or frontotemporal region. This state of he alth is often manifested in overweight women. Pain can be aggravated by coughing or sneezing.
Intracranial pressure comes from tumors. Feeling worse as it progresses. Localization can be in the left or right hemisphere, it all depends on the location of the tumor. The pain can be throbbing, splitting or deep. This usually happens after a strong load on the body, a long stay in a horizontal position.
Discomfort also comes from other causes: concussionsbrain, hemorrhage, fatigue, stress. If pain occurs at night with ICP, then surgical intervention is needed. Medicines are used for hypertension.
Histamine disease
This is another reason why my head hurts at night and in the morning. Unpleasant sensations are usually observed every day and last about two hours. Localization can be in one of the eye sockets, on the left or on the right.
This disease develops from the frequent use of alcohol, products with tyramine, climate change. Treatment is based on eliminating the causes that lead to seizures.
Intoxication
Why does my head hurt in the evening and at night? This happens with various infections and poisonings. There may also be a high temperature, tinnitus, loss of strength and depression. Night pain develops from toxins and infectious agents.
Unpleasant sensations arise from non-compliance with the treatment regimen and taking the drug. In the morning, the head bothers due to a decrease in the concentration of drugs that are used to treat the infection. Therapy is aimed at eliminating the source. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs help to temporarily eliminate malaise.
Cluster cephalgic syndrome
Why does my head hurt at night if the pressure is normal? In cluster cephalgic syndrome, pain arises from unidentified causes. It manifests itself in the area of the eyes, forehead, temples, usually in the form of seizures. Usually the discomfort occurs at the same time and lasts for about an hour.
The disease is treated with triptans, ergotamine and oxygen inhalations. During the periodattacks, you need to adhere to the treatment regimen, diet. It is also important to exclude alcohol.
Migraine
Why does my head hurt at night and go away in the morning? The cause may be a neurological disease - migraine. It is manifested by acute throbbing pain in the forehead and temples. A person can be influenced by bright light stimuli, loud sounds, smells, nausea, apathy. Migraine can be after waking up.
Treatment is based on triptans, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Traditional medicines are also used. It is also important to change your lifestyle. Phytotherapy and psychotherapeutic methods are used.
Hypoglycemia
Why does the back of my head hurt at night? Lack of blood sugar results in a feeling of hunger. This is accompanied by severe headaches. This condition can interfere with falling asleep, which prevents you from fully resting. In this situation, proper nutrition, rational distribution of meals is required.
Heart attack or stroke
Why does my head hurt at night while sleeping? Sometimes it is a symptom of a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, if poor sleep is due to pain in the head, you should consult a specialist.
Spine pathology
This is another common reason for headaches after a night out. Pulsating discomfort is associated with a violation of the blood circulation of the brain. Aggravated pain from infection, sudden movements and overexertion.
temporalarteritis
Why does the older generation have severe headaches at night? Often this is associated with temporal arteritis. Usually unpleasant sensations are aching in nature, concentrated in the back of the head or in the temples. There is a high fever, muscle pain, visual disturbances.
The doctor prescribes treatment only after identifying the cause. Usually, it is supposed to take antibacterial agents, which must be drunk as a course.
Psychogenic factors
Also why does your head hurt when you sleep at night? The pain may be accompanied by nightmares. It is difficult for a person to wake up on his own until the discomfort reaches its climax. After awakening, apathy and depression often appear. The condition occurs with mental stress and mental fatigue or chronic lack of sleep.
In this case, doctors recommend more rest, yoga and exercise. Relaxing treatments are also needed, including self-massage.
Here are all the causes of headaches at night. To eliminate an unpleasant symptom, sometimes effective remedies or procedures are required. After treatment, it is necessary to engage in prevention.
Diagnosis
One-time pain is eliminated by analgesics, but if it is systematic, a consultation with a neurologist or therapist is required, who will refer you to specific specialists for examination.
To establish the cause, a comprehensive examination is required, consisting of:
- USG of the arteries of the neck, "gray matter".
- Electrocardiography.
- Electromyography.
- Puncturescerebrospinal fluid.
If necessary, the doctor may prescribe blood plasma testing, biochemistry, urine analysis. There may also be other methods of examination, depending on the nature of the course of the disease.
Don't self-prescribe funds. This must be done by a doctor. The diagnosis allows us to prescribe effective methods of treatment. All therapy must be performed under medical supervision.
Treatment
To eliminate pain at night, you need to choose a course of treatment, you should know why your head starts to hurt at night. Therapy is performed depending on the type of ailment:
- Painkillers are used for tense discomfort. Sometimes the symptoms disappear after anti-inflammatory drugs - Ibuprofen, Paracetamol. If the disease does not disappear after 7 days, then the pathology is eliminated by exercise therapy.
- Migraine requires exclusion of irritating factors: tobacco smoke, loud and monotonous noise.
- Cluster crises are treated with drug injections, oxygen therapy.
- With high intracranial pressure, elimination of the focus of inflammation in the "gray matter" is required. Trepanation in progress.
- Temporal arteritis should be treated with antibiotics.
- If the tension is associated with strong loads, stresses, you need to neutralize provocateurs. You can reduce the intensity of symptoms with the help of exercise therapy, light massage.
You should not treat the pathology on your own, because the causes of the disease canbe serious. Only a qualified doctor is able to establish the nature of the disease, recommend appropriate therapy.
When blood pressure changes
If pain occurs with hypotension, then you need funds to increase pressure. To do this, use:
- eleutherococcus;
- ginseng;
- caffeine;
- citramon.
When hypotension appeared from starvation, then thanks to a full meal, it will be possible to get rid of discomfort without the use of painkillers. Medicines must be prescribed by a doctor. You can alleviate the condition on your own with a cool bath, rest and good sleep.
Getting ready for bed
Sometimes nighttime headaches appear in the absence of proper preparation for sleep. Therefore, the following recommendations should be followed:
- Don't watch TV or use your phone 1 hour before bedtime. This habit negatively affects he alth. From the radiation of the display, emotions, thoughts, a bad dream appears. Screen brightness is harmful to the eyes. These are just some of the consequences of this habit. But reading literature will be useful.
- You need to stop talking an hour before bedtime. This applies to phone calls, checking mail and live calls.
- Don't eat before bed. It is also harmful to go to bed on an empty stomach. It is advisable to have a snack 2 hours before bedtime, but use light meals.
- Don't drink tea and coffee either. But herbal teas, which have a calming effect, help. These fees can be bought at pharmacies.
- Before going to bed do notyou should drink alcohol. At night, it is difficult for the organs to cope with the toxins found in table wine or beer.
- It is undesirable to take a hot bath or a contrast shower in the evening. It is advisable to perform hardening procedures in the morning. A warm bath with sea s alt will do. The temperature should not exceed 37°.
- In a dream, people spend at least 6-7 hours. During this period, the oxygen concentration in the room decreases. To make it easier to wake up in the morning, you need to air the bedroom before going to bed.
For fast falling asleep and good rest, herbal infusions are used. It is better to consult a doctor, as some plants may be contraindicated for certain ailments. The following infusions are effective:
- It will take 2 tbsp. l. valerian root, which is poured with a glass of boiling water. Infusion is performed for an hour. The drink is cooled and filtered. You need to take it for 2 tbsp. l. 4 times a day.
- Use a remedy from tinctures of hawthorn and propolis. No more than 3 times a day, use 2 drops 30 minutes before meals.
If you follow these simple rules, you can improve the quality of sleep. The person will sleep better and therefore feel great during the day.
Prevention
Preventing pathology is easier than treating it. You must follow simple recommendations to eliminate headaches:
- Need at least 8 hours of sleep.
- You should take breaks from work.
- Need to reduce caffeinated intakedrinks.
- Requires exclusion of alcoholic cocktails, tobacco products.
- Effective walking, running, swimming.
Headache at night is not a separate pathology. This is usually a symptom of some kind of illness. Therefore, neutralization of the root cause is required. If the origin cannot be identified, then the therapy is aimed at preventing, mitigating the subsequent crisis.
