How Sleep Apnea May Cause Headaches

Headaches are a bit like ice cream.

They come in a lot of flavors, and you can pick them up in a variety of places.

Ice cream may come from a grocery store, a specialty shop, a restaurant, or a truck. Headaches may come from stress, poor diet, or a sleeping disorder.

Unlike ice cream, headaches aren’t fun.

Headaches generally leave you lying in a darkened room (or at least wishing you could get to one) while you rub at your temples and long for relief. If you experience habitual headaches, you start to wonder what’s causing them and decide to seek medical attention for the problem.

The list of symptoms for nearly every ailment known to humankind includes headaches, so a headache alone is not enough to indicate a diagnosis of anything.

But, if you already know that you have sleep apnea, and you know that headaches are a common symptom of that sleeping disorder, you may be wondering: Is my sleep apnea causing my headaches?

And if so, how does sleep apnea cause headaches?

Morning Headaches

It’s good to note straight off that since the early 90s the scientific population has been a bit torn on whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) actually does cause headaches. That’s because patients with all types of sleep disorders, not just sleep apnea, seem to experience headaches.

But, one study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, published in 1999, (and another published in Cephalalgia in 2009) did conclude that OSA is more likely to cause morning headaches.

Morning headaches tend to be brief, lasting no more than 30 minutes right after waking up. The 1999 study also found a correlation between the severity of patients’ OSA and the prevalence of morning headaches.

The controversy is hardly settled, so, of course, neither is the exact cause.

Still, other studies conducted in the 2000s have leaned toward the idea that morning headaches are caused by a combination of reduced or fluctuating oxygen levels and impaired sleep quality.

Tension-Type Headaches

A study published in the Journal of Headache and Pain in 2015 found that tension-type headaches are more likely in patients with sleep apnea.

Tension-type headaches (also known as “ordinary headache” or “stress headache”) are the most common variety, and they can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 7 days. Yeah, you could have a week-long headache.

Again, the causes are uncertain, but there is a general correlation between headaches and lack of sleep. Sleep apnea causes people to get less sleep, and the sleep they do get tends to be less than restful.

The study also suggests that tension-type headaches could be due to a fall in serotonin levels or an overall increase in pain sensitivity due to sleep disturbance.

Conclusion

How does sleep apnea cause headaches?

The scientific studies vary on what causes headaches and whether or not there is a correlation with sleep apnea and headaches, so no one is 100% sure that it does.

There is one thing that everyone is sure about: Better sleep makes you feel better.

With ice cream, no matter where you get it, it generally tastes good.

With headaches, no matter what causes it, a good night’s sleep can generally help make it go away.