Headache From Oversleeping: Causes, Remedies & Prevention

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Can Oversleeping Cause a Headache?

Medically reviewed by Deena Kuruvilla, MD — Written by Tim Jewell on May 14, 2020

How much sleep?
Primary causes
Other causes
Remedies
Prevention
Takeaway

Headaches aren’t fun. They’re especially not fun if you wake up with dull or throbbing pain with no obvious cause.

But one reason your head might be bothering you when you wake up is that you overslept.

Let’s get into how much sleep is too much, why exactly sleeping in too long can cause headaches, and what you can do about it (even if sleeping in isn’t the actual cause).

How much sleep is too much?

There’s no magic number of hours that you need to sleep to feel rested. The amount of sleep you need varies depending on numerous factors, including:

how old you are
how often you exercise
how healthy you are
what your mental state is like throughout the day

And these factors can change dramatically throughout your life (even throughout your days).

For example, if you’re stressed out or if you’re staying in bed sick, you’ll probably find that you need to get more sleep than you’re used to.

But many experts recommend that you get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night if you’re an adult from age 18 to well beyond your 60s.

Some people need more or less sleep than the average to feel their best.

Why does oversleeping cause headaches?

Getting too much sleep is actually a common headache trigger.

Multiple explanations exist for why exactly this happens, but scientists have dug into some research on this connection.

Serotonin disruption

Some research suggests that oversleeping has effects on neurotransmitters in your brain — particularly on one (rather famous) neurotransmitter called serotonin.

Typically, serotonin helps maintain your circadian rhythm, the natural patterns of sleep that your body follows to fall asleep and wake up in a way that rests and refreshes your bodily processes.

To do this, cells in your brain called neurons move serotonin to a series of receptors programmed by your genes to use serotonin for a certain goal. In this case, serotonin tells these receptors to make you fall asleep or wake up.

This whole process is called a neural pathway — it’s just one of many in your brain that helps your body accomplish certain tasks. You can think of it as your brain signaling when your body needs to turn “on” and “off.”

When you oversleep, you’re interrupting this neural pathway. If you keep sleeping even after serotonin has signaled to your receptors to make you wake up, your body is no longer truly resting.

Your body now thinks it’s awake and begins to need nourishment like food and water to restore blood flow and nerve activity in the brain that slowed down during sleep.

So if you sleep in for a few hours after your body’s started being active, it’s possible to get a headache from mild nutrient deficiency and dehydration until you get some food or water in you.

Sleep disorders

Here’s another possibility: You may have a sleep disorder like insomnia or sleep apnea.

Insomnia means that even when you think you’re sleeping, your brain may not go into full-on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is a critical part of your sleep cycle necessary for restful sleep.

And according to a 2011 study, when you don’t get enough REM sleep, your body creates more of certain kinds of proteins that stimulate your nervous system and make you more likely to have migraine attacks when you wake up.

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that reduces how much oxygen gets to your brain during sleep. This can interrupt your REM sleep and constrict blood flow to the brain, causing a headache when you wake up.

Anxiety

There’s a strong connection between anxiety and headache disorders such as migraine.

Studies have shown that anxiety and other mood disorders such as depression are leading causes for insomnia and oversleeping.

Many people with migraine tend to experience migraine on weekends not only as a result of oversleeping but due to a drop in stress levels.

Studies have shown that a drop in stress levels can result in a migraine in the next 6, 12, or 18 hours.

What other things might cause headaches when you wake up in the morning?

Here are some other possibilities that might explain why you wake up with a headache:

hypersomnia, or chronically sleeping in
anxiety that disrupts your sleep
bruxism, or teeth grinding that makes head and neck muscles tense
snoring
dehydration
alcohol, which interrupts your circadian rhythm
overuse of caffeine or alcohol
skipping meals

While you may be able to manage morning headaches on your own if they’re related to causes like oversleeping or dehydration, it’s important to note that headaches can sometimes be a warning sign of a more serious underlying issue.

See a doctor immediately if you experience:

sudden, severe headaches
headaches occurring after head injury
recurring headaches, especially if this is new for you
head pain accompanied by symptoms such as confusion, weakness, vision problems, shortness of breath, or loss of consciousness

What can you do to relieve a headache in the morning?

Here are some morning headache remedies that may help you kick it before it ruins your day:

take your headache rescue medication
stretch your head and neck muscles to reduce tension
drink water to rehydrate
sip a hot herbal tea like ginger or chamomile
use a hot or cold compress to relax tense muscles and stimulate blood flow
use aromatherapy with lavender or eucalyptus
try breathing exercises to relax muscles
if you can, lie in bed a little longer and relax but don’t fall back asleep

What can you do to prevent headaches in the morning?

Getting restful, consistent sleep is the best way to prevent oversleeping and the headaches that come with it.

Maintaining your circadian rhythm can help reduce or eliminate the causes of your headaches altogether.

Here are some best practices for getting consistent sleep:

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This can train your sleep cycle to ensure more consistent sleep.
Turn off sources of blue light like computers and phones an hour before bed.
Don’t eat a heavy meal or drink a lot of liquids right before bed. Liquids especially can make you have to pee during the night and wake you up.
Do something relaxing in bed like reading, listening to music, or meditating.
Drink a hot or soothing non-caffeinated drink like herbal tea.
Use an essential oil diffuser with lavender to relax in your bedroom.
Create a relaxing atmosphere with dim light, calming music, and warm, clean sheets and blankets.
Keep a glass of water by your bed to hydrate as soon as you wake up.
Try techniques to fall asleep faster, like counting sheep, counting down from 100, or focusing on a single object in your room.

If you still have trouble sleeping, see a doctor. They can test you for any possible sleep disorders and recommend a treatment plan.

Key takeaways

It’s not always clear why oversleeping may be causing you to have headaches in the morning. But research suggests that it mostly has to do with interruptions in your natural sleep cycle.

There’s plenty you can do to help relieve or prevent morning headaches. For example, you can make some lifestyle changes to help keep you on a consistent sleep schedule. You can also set aside time in the evening to get your body and brain ready for bed.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Ahn AH, et al. (2013). Migraine and sleep: New connections.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3997296/
Arnaldi D, et al. (2015). The role of the serotonergic system in REM sleep behavior disorder. DOI:https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.5000
Durham P, et al. (2011). REM sleep deprivation promotes sustained levels of proteins implicated in peripheral and central sensitization of trigeminal nerves: Role in pain chronification. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2011.02.127
How much sleep do I need? (2017).https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.html
Lipton RB, et al. (2014). Reduction in perceived stress as a migraine trigger: Testing the "let-down headache" hypothesis.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24670889
Sleep disorders and headache. (2019).https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/resource-library/sleep/
Suzuki K, et al. (2015). Sleep apnoea headache in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome patients presenting with morning headache: Comparison of the ICHD-2 and ICHD-3 beta criteria. DOI:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4478186/#!po=68.1818
Watson CJ, et al. (2010). Neuropharmacology of sleep and wakefulness. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsmc.2010.08.003

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Medically reviewed by Deena Kuruvilla, MD — Written by Tim Jewell on May 14, 2020

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