Waking Up With Headaches? Experts Reveal the Causes and How to Prevent Head Pain in the Morning

Headaches are painful and disruptive enough, and even more so when they strike first thing in the morning before you’ve even fully opened your eyes. If you’re waking up with headaches frequently, several triggers could be responsible. The good news is that most potential causes are easily treatable. Here, doctors reveal likely sources of morning headaches and what you can do to stop them. 

Why am I waking up with headaches?

Multiple health and lifestyle factors can contribute to morning headaches. To pinpoint the exact cause of your head pain, it’s helpful to look at your habits and additional symptoms you may be experiencing. We’ve rounded up some of the most common culprits, plus the best treatment options.

Teeth grinding 

Headaches are a common symptom of grinding your teeth and clenching your jaw muscles (medical known as bruxism), says NYC-based dentist Sandip Sachar, DDS. 

“Clenching and grinding of the teeth while sleeping causes overuse, pain and fatigue of the jaw muscles,” she explains. “Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is the medical term for pain in the temporomandibular joint (commonly called TMJ).” Other symptoms may include jaw pain and cracked or chipped teeth. 

The fix: Headaches caused by TMD can be eased by massaging the jaw and temporarily following a soft-food diet for two to four days or until the headache resolves (which can mean seven to 10 days), offers Dr. Sachar. Additionally, she suggests making a conscious effort not to clench your jaw while you’re awake and keeping your teeth apart. 

“By reducing stress and anxiety, one may also relieve TMD and associated headaches,” she says. “I often recommend mindfulness and meditation to help reduce stress.” You can also discuss options with your dentist, including wearing protective oral gear like a night guard. 

Sleep apnea

Sleep apnea, a health condition that occurs when your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, leads to oxygen deprivation and disrupted sleep cycles. The lack of oxygen can cause blood vessels in the brain to dilate, triggering morning headaches, says Jin Li, MD, Medical Director of Headache Service at Westchester Medical Center Health Network.

In addition to waking up with a headache, you might also notice symptoms such as snoring loudly or waking up gasping for air—hallmark signs of this sleep disorder.

The fix: Dr. Li recommends seeing your doctor to come up with the right personal treatment approach. That may include using a CPAP device, an oral appliance or lifestyle changes. Learn more about sleep apnea treatments here.  

Muscle tension

Tension headaches are a common type of head pain caused by muscle tension, often worsened by stress or body posture, explains Evans Sirois, DO, internist and co-founder of N-2 Water. 

This type of headache is usually described as a pressure or squeezing feeling over the forehead or temples or upper neck, explains Dr. Sirois. It occurs due to neck and upper back muscles becoming tight. 

“Spending hours every day working with your arms in front of you at your computer or at your work station for several hours a day all causes significant stress and fatigue in your neck and upper back muscles,” he explains.. 

The fix: Focusing on your posture and workplace ergonomics go a long way in preventing tension headaches, says Dr. Sirois. ​​According to the American Migraine Foundation, here’s how to achieve ideal seated posture:

• Sit with your head and neck upright in a neutral position
• Rest your feet flat on the floor (or supported by a foot rest) and avoid sitting on your feet or crossing your legs
• Keep your arms and elbows close to your body, use an arm rest for support and keep your wrists in a neutral position
• Sit with your hips fully back in your chair and with your back supported
• Try placing a small rolled towel behind your lower back to decrease the space between the chair and your back

You can also try taking a warm shower or bath or massaging your neck and scalp muscles to alleviate tension. 

If your morning headache is stubbornly hanging on, you can also apply a warm compress to your neck and shoulders, offers Dr. Li. Keep it there for 15-20 minutes until you start to feel relief.

Poor sleep

Sleep deprivation, sleep pattern changes, poor sleeping position, stress, anxiety and vasomotor symptoms from menopause and perimenopause are frequently triggers for the most common morning headaches, says Chantel Strachan, MD, Internist and Primary Care Physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. 

“These triggers often affect your circadian rhythm [your internal body clock] and lower the threshold for how your body regulates pain,” she says. 

How do you know if you’re getting poor sleep? In addition to headaches, common symptoms include daytime sleepiness, fatigue, irritability, trouble thinking, focusing and remembering and slowed reaction times. You may also notice signs of poor sleep hygiene such as frequent trouble falling and staying asleep through the night. 

The fix: Dr. Li recommends focusing on improving sleep quality by maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. That means going to bed and waking up at the same time each day to regulate your circadian rhythm. 

“Make sure your mattress and pillows offer proper support to avoid neck strain and create a comfortable sleep environment free from distractions,” she adds. “Reducing screen time before bed can also help, as blue light from screens interferes with melatonin production, disrupting sleep quality.”

Magnesium deficiency 

Not obtaining enough magnesium can cause morning headaches as well. In fact, magnesium deficiency is present in up to 50 percent of migraine sufferers, says Dr. Li. (Migraines can often cause pain on one side of the head and sensitivity to light, too.)

According to a study published in the journal Nutrients, this is likely because magnesium deficiency has been associated with cortical spreading depression (CSD), which is thought to cause visual disturbances (aura) that some people experience with migraines, brain chemical imbalance and blood vessel narrowing.  

Other warning signs of a magnesium deficiency: loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness in early stages. Left untreated, a magnesium deficiency can potentially cause numbness, tingling and muscle cramps, as well as seizures or abnormal heart rhythms in severe cases.

The fix: Magnesium is known to help with muscle relaxation and stress reduction, and it has also been shown to help prevent and ease migraine symptoms, says Nicholas Church, MD, founder of Somerset Medical. You can take 400 mg of magnesium supplements once daily and should notice improvement within a few days, he notes. 

Dr. Li also suggests incorporating magnesium-rich foods such as almonds, spinach and bananas into your daily diet. 

Dehydration

Not drinking enough water throughout the day or consuming dehydrating substances like alcohol or caffeine before bed can lead to a dehydration-triggered headache, explains Dr. Li. This is because dehydration reduces blood flow to the brain and causes the brain’s pain receptors to become more sensitive, resulting in a headache upon waking.

Not sure if your head pain is related to your fluid intake? Other signs that can clue you in are increased thirst, dry mouth, decreased urination, dark-colored urine, fatigue, dizziness and confusion. 

The fix: Dr. Li advises drinking at least eight glasses of water throughout the day and avoiding excessive alcohol or caffeine intake in the evening to prevent dehydration. 

Certain medications 

Taking over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen too frequently can result in medication overuse headaches (aka rebound headaches), explains Dr. Church. This happens when the brain’s pain pathways become more sensitive due to regular exposure to these drugs, he says. Some high blood pressure medications may also cause headaches as a side effect, adds Dr. Li. 

Medication overuse headaches may present along with nausea, restlessness, trouble concentrating, memory problems and irritability. These headaches tend to occur every or nearly every day and improve with pain medicine, but return as the medicine wears off.

The fix: Contact your doctor if you need headache medicine more than twice a week, avoid medicines that have butalbital or opioids if possible, use OTC painkillers no more than 14 days a month and limit use of triptans or combined pain relievers to no more than nine days a month.

Caffeine withdrawal 

If you regularly consume caffeine, skipping your usual morning cup of coffee or going too long without it can trigger withdrawal headaches, says Dr. Li. You’ll know you’re experiencing a caffeine withdrawal headache if it’s accompanied by fatigue, decreased energy and alertness, drowsiness, low mood, difficulty concentrating, irritability and mental fogginess. 

The fix: “A small amount of caffeine, such as a cup of tea or coffee, can relieve headaches by constricting blood vessels,” says Dr. Li. “However, avoid overuse to prevent dependency.”