Many complaints about my head.

October 1, 2024 7:41 PM

What should I do to prevent tension headaches while sleeping?

I’ve been woken up nightly for the past week or so with nasty tension headaches. The pain is like a tight squeezing around the crown of my head and down towards my temples and behind my ears. I’ve had tooth and jaw pain as well probably from clenching my jaw in my sleep.

The pain goes away about an hour after I wake up and I’m not getting these headaches during the day, only at night (though I have some residual soreness in my jaw and around my temples throughout the day).

Has anyone vanquished tension headaches? How did you do it?

Not sure if this info is relevant:

- I’m a side sleeper who often rolls onto my back
- I’ve been sick for about a month with a nasty cough that turned into pneumonia that I’m now recovering from. But I’m still not 100%

Thanks all!

posted by rodneyaug to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Best answer: I will be paying close attention to this question since I have the same problem!

One thing I have noticed is that if I take magnesium at night, it helps my body unclench and relax a bit, which reduces this kind of issue. If I take it every night, it makes my mornings groggier, so I don't do that - but if I take it 2-3 times a week, its enough to notice a positive difference without any side effects. Might be worth giving it a try!
posted by carlypennylane at 7:52 PM on October 1 [4 favorites]

Best answer: It sounds like bruxism/teeth grinding is causing the headaches, from my layperson’s perspective. Lingering muscle strain and inflammation from the pneumonia leading to tooth grinding leading to heinous tension headaches.

As first steps, try taking an ibuprofen and applying warm compresses to your neck and jaw before bed. Also consider adjusting your pillows for optimal support - you might try somewhat of an angle so lingering gunk from your illness can drain better. And of course stay very hydrated. You’ve probably tried these things though, since they are pretty standard recovery things!

There are all kinds of massage techniques for bruxism; you could also get a professional massage. Ask your dentist if they have advice for you, of course - you can get a mouth guard but they might have other suggestions in the short term.
posted by Mizu at 8:08 PM on October 1 [3 favorites]

I had this and it turned out to be related to sleep apnea. I’d never considered it because I don’t gasp for air - but my oxygen levels drop. Having a cpap fixed it. I think part of that is my cpap is humidified - maybe try a humidifier in the short term?
posted by dpx.mfx at 1:11 AM on October 2 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Being a side sleeper could mean that you can't breath if you are on your back, because when you sleep your tongue falls back just a little and that's enough to close your airway. Recently having had pneumonia likely means your lungs are still damaged enough that they are unable to oxygenate your blood sufficiently. Your tension headache sounds very much like a hypoxia headache to me. You have two pieces of data that both point in that direction.

Tonight try putting a pillow under your torso and sleeping on your front without any pillow under your head. In that position your tongue won't slide backwards so you have a good chance of keeping your airway open. If you can sleep like this and wake up headache free it will be a useful data point.



A secondary possibility is that you are still having fevers at night, and when you are warm you are throwing off the covers. But later when you are sleeping you are too cold, so your body is clenching up to retain warmth. Try sleeping in a hoodie with the hood up.
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:22 AM on October 2

Best answer: I grind my teeth at night and had been waking up with tension headaches. I have a mouthguard from my dentist - which helps some, but still had headaches. However, I recently learned an exercise to release my jaw muscles. Open you mouth wide, place three fingers vertically in between your upper and lower teeth (to hold the jaw open - don't bite down!) then breathe deeply in and out 10 times. I do this right before bed and it has greatly reduced my teeth clinching/grinding. It might not work for you - but it is quick and free.
posted by donovangirl at 5:42 AM on October 2 [2 favorites]

You could try chewing gum in the evening to work out some of that energy, along with the various massage/stretching mentioned above.
posted by SaltySalticid at 5:45 AM on October 2

I had the same issue. My dentist said I was grinding my teeth at night and made me a custom nightguard which solved the problem.
posted by victoriab at 7:54 AM on October 2

Best answer: +1 for magnesium, I find it helps a lot with jaw clenching and general muscle tightness at night.
posted by terretu at 9:16 AM on October 2

Echoing the others who say it sounds like sleep apnea (the grinding, headache placement, preferring to side-sleep). Maybe it’s been exacerbated by the pneumonia and other breathing issues.
posted by loulou718 at 9:28 AM on October 2

Best answer: Another +1 for magnesium--specifically citrate or glycinate (the regular "oxide" kind found in multi-vitamins doesn't work the same and can cause constipation in high doses). It was--at the risk of sounding hyperbolic--a miracle cure for my nightime clenching and resulting tension headaches. So, so glad I tried it before going the route of nightguards, botox, etc. As a data point, I take 500 mg every night and don't feel groggy in the morning.

Also, what you are describing maybe an "occipital headache", which I haven't seen it mentioned so far so please read up on that. You might consider whether you need a new pillow, what your ergonomic set-up is during the day (I work at a desk and leaning forward with my chin to get closer to a too-far-away screen caused issues for me), and/or getting a massage; your muscles and nerves in your upper back, through your neck and jaw and all the way up to the top of your head are all connected.
posted by lovableiago at 9:43 AM on October 2

Response by poster: Thank you all!

I googled some self-massage techniques for bruxism (thanks to Mizu for teaching me that term), did a bit of massage, took some magnesium, dressed warmer for bed, and had a much less painful night last night than before.
posted by rodneyaug at 9:46 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]