Do you ever wake up with a heavy head, feeling tired and wasted? What do you do? Well, some of us look for tea or coffee, some of us try to take a medicine, some try to look for reasons for a headache like- maybe I slept late, maybe I drank too much etc. Then after a while, you forget about it and carry on with your routine thinking that it might be just fatigue of lack of sleep. Well, don’t ignore it anymore, why? Read on to know more!
Headaches are considered to be a universal problem. Everyone has experienced them in their lifetime. They are also one of the most ignored things as we feel that they will go away. But some people experience severe pain due to headaches constantly during mornings. So should we ignore them or not? Although they might not be a sign of any serious problem but certainly should not be ignored. Sometimes these headaches awaken the person and they could be of any type like cluster, migraine or stress type. These headaches are usually prominent in the early morning hours mostly after 4AM. This is because at that time the level of body’s natural painkillers is very low so when you wake up these headaches tend to be at their worst.
There could be many reasons for these headaches like.
- Migraine
- Depression
- Muscle tension
- Sleep apnea
- Grinding of teeth also called ‘bruxism’
- Tension and stress
- Side effects of medicines
- Caffeine
- High Blood Pressure
- Brain tumors
HOW THEY HAPPEN:
Between 4AM to 8AM our body produces a very less quantity of endorphins and encephalin which are the natural painkillers of the body. Whereas during the other times of the day they are produced in much larger quantities in the body. Also during this time Adrenalin is released in larger quantities which affects the blood pressure and also controls the regulation of the blood vessels hence causing migraine-like attacks. These important physiological changes occurring during the early morning hours cause these headaches.
TREATMENT:
Before going to a doctor one can himself note a few things and understand the pattern. Like
- Are these headaches new?
- Are they severe?
- Where in the head do they occur?
- What time do they start?
- After answering all these questions we can follow these treatment steps.
- Stretch before you get out of bed each morning.
- Relax all your stiff muscles.
- Go to sleep on time and try to get a good night sleep.
- Try to reduce stress from your life.
- Learn to manage conflict better.
- Limit the use of caffeine.
- Meditate daily
- Keep your body well hydrated.
Always understand the kind of a headache you have and take action accordingly.