Sleep basics
Getting enough sleep is an important part of staying healthy. As you sleep, your body repairs itself so that your brain and body can function optimally when you’re awake. But did you know that getting a good night’s sleep can also help keep headaches at bay?
That’s what experts say. Various studies have linked a lack of sleep to two different types of headaches: migraine and tension headaches.
Migraine vs. tension
Migraine headaches can cause significant and sometimes disabling headache pain. Symptoms include:
- pain usually on just one side of the head
- pain that lasts hours to days
- sensitivity to light and sound
- nausea
- vomiting
Tension headaches tend to cause mild to moderate pain across the top, sides, and back of the head, and aren’t usually worsened by light or sound.
Research suggests that other types of headaches, such as cluster, hemicrania continua, and hypnic headaches, can occur during sleep. But future studies are needed to understand if they are linked to a lack of sleep like migraine and tension headaches.
Sleep-headache link
In 2011, researchers from Missouri State University published a study suggesting that a lack of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is linked to more painful headaches. REM sleep happens in 90- to 120-minute intervals throughout the night and gets its name from the rapid eye movements that occur during this phase of sleep.
This sleep stage is also characterized by:
- increased dreaming
- body movements
- faster breathing
- increased heart rate
Scientists believe REM sleep is necessary for storing memories, learning, and regulating mood.
The researchers of that 2011 study found that a lack of sleep increases the creation of proteins in the body that cause chronic pain. It appears that these proteins reduce the body’s threshold for experiencing pain and can spark intense migraine headaches.
A 2018 review Trusted Source closely links a lack of sleep to tension headaches.
