Hypnic headache treatment
- migraine in your sleep
- headache in your sleep
- having a migraine in your sleep
- getting headaches in your sleep
I get a headache every night around the same time!
Migraine and sleep
The links between sleep and migraine
The link
Sleep and headache are closely linked. Migraine attacks may be both caused and relieved by sleep, as well as being a cause of too much or too little sleep.
How does your body know when to sleep?
You have a circadian rhythm which lasts around 24 hours.
Your body and mind go through a range of changes over this time.
It controls your sleep-wake pattern and also changes how alert you are.
Your rhythm mainly responds to changes in light.
What causes pounding headaches while sleeping
The body clock in your brain controls this. In the evening, it starts to get dark and your eyes signal this to your body clock. Your body clock then tells the brain to release the hormone melatonin. This makes you sleepy.
Migraine aura during sleep
When it gets lighter, the brain reduces the amount of melatonin it makes. This starts to wake you up. However, we each have a slightly different rhythm which is why some people are more alert in the morning and others, later.
Even within the states of sleep and wakefulness, there are faster, shorter cycles of brain activity.