If you usually rise but don’t shine in the morning thanks to a splitting headache, the reason for the pain might not be what you suspect. In the past, medical experts thought morning headaches were the result of sleep apnea, snoring, even insomnia.
But now they believe it might be something else: your emotional health. As it turns out, new research points to depression and anxiety disorders as a source of chronic morning headaches. In the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers surveyed a sample of 18,980 people in several European countries and asked them about morning headaches, mental and sleep disorders, use of alcohol or drugs, and other illnesses.
Their research came up with a bounty of statistical information. For example, they found out that morning headaches affect about one in 13 people over 15 years of age. Overall, 7.6% of those surveyed said they suffered from morning headaches, with 1.3% reporting them daily and 4.4% saying they had them "often." And the study also showed that morning headaches were slightly more common in women than in men and in people between 45 and 64 years old.
But the researchers also discovered something surprising. People with anxiety and depressive disorders were much more likely than others to report chronic morning headaches. In fact, nearly one third (29 percent) of those with depression or anxiety disorders said they also suffered from frequent morning headaches.
The research points to a new direction in dealing with headaches, one that might rid sufferers of their morning pain.
Robin Westen is ThirdAge’s medical reporter. Check for her daily updates.
See what other have to say about this story or leave a comment of your own.
