Insomnia and Head Pain: How They Are Connected

If you experience frequent and blinding headaches in the wee hours of the morning, you may take a variety of medications to circumvent your symptoms. But some headaches can be relentless and require more than pain medication to stop, especially if you have insomnia. Insomnia can induce headaches as well as other related symptoms.

Don't let insomnia-induced headaches disrupt your life. Learn more about insomnia-related headaches and how to avoid them below.

People who have insomnia struggle to fall and remain asleep at night. If the individuals drift off to sleep, it's usually for a short amount of time. The short intervals of time can disrupt your natural sleep patterns and body's most critical functions.

During the night, your body produces crucial chemicals that repair and rejuvenate every organism in your body, including your brain. Your brain needs rest to do many things at night, including replenish its cells and strengthen your memory.

Your brain also creates proteins that regulate pain. The proteins that regulate pain may increase without enough sleep. But instead of increasing your ability to withstand pain, the proteins decrease it. The increase in proteins may lead to more intense bouts of head pain, including the pain caused by migraines and other severe headaches. 

Your regular doctor may recommend you take naps during the day to make up for some of the sleep you lose at night. However, taking naps during the day may not always be the best solution for your headaches. Naps may actually make headaches worse in some insomniacs. 

There are many other potential causes, factors, and risks for insomnia-related headaches. People with sleep apnea problems or bruxism may develop headaches over time. Individuals who have high blood pressure, drink alcohol, or experience heartburn may also develop insomnia and headaches. 

If you have one or several of the issues above, ask your doctor for help controlling them. You can also reach out to a physical therapist for assistance.

Along with your family or individual physician, a physical therapist can you control your headaches so that you can sleep better throughout the night. If you put an end to your insomnia, you may be able to control or eliminate your headaches as well. 

A physical therapist may ask you to make a list of every health issue you have now and have experienced in the past. If there's a link between your insomnia-related headaches and health, it's important to uncover it before you begin treatment. A therapist can cater your treatment around your condition.

One of the treatments a physical therapy specialist may prescribe you is massage therapy. Massage therapy does several things, including:

Your therapy treatments may also lower the time and frequency of your headaches until you have your insomnia under control. A therapist will generally perform periodic assessments on you to see if your treatment has improved your headaches and insomnia. If needed, a therapist may add, change, or tweak your treatment to create the positive results you need.

You may or may not need to complete physical therapy treatment at home. A therapist will discuss whether or not home-care treatment will benefit you during one of your consultations.

If you have insomnia-related headaches and can't find the answers you need anywhere else, contact us at Advanced Physical Therapy for the solutions you need today.