Do You Always Get a Headache at the Same Time of Day? Study Describes Why
Fast Facts
- In order to understand why some people experience cluster headaches or migraines at the same time every day, a recent study examined circadian rhythms.
- While migraines affect the entire head, cluster headaches only affect one side of the head.
- According to experts, comprehending the circadian cycle can help people identify the underlying causes of their headaches and determine the most effective treatments for their particular circumstances.
According to recent studies, some people have headaches at the same time every day.
The disturbance brought on by either cluster headaches or migraines can be crippling for people who suffer from them, hurting daily life. Many people get these severe headaches at the same time every day, creating a pattern of pain and misery.
The onset patterns of cluster and migraine headaches are explained by recent research. Published in Neurology, a meta-analysis looked at every study on migraine and cluster headaches that used the circadian clock. They carefully observed what time of day and season these headaches were happening because circadian rhythms are strongly correlated with light and dark.
These data points are therefore quite significant.
They also examined research on the correlation between these headaches and circadian-related chemicals like melatonin and cortisol.
Lead study author Mark Joseph Burish, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, stated to Health that cluster headaches are well known among specialists "to have a precise daily cycle," so they weren't surprised to see this connection with the circadian system when looking at the data from the analysis of all of these studies. He was most astonished by the migraine statistics.
But migraine is not considered to be a strongly circadian condition, according to Dr. Burish.
We were shocked to discover that migraine has such strong circadian links because 50% of patients report having headaches at the same time of day, patients have lower melatonin levels, and there are genetic linkages to circadian genes or genes regulated by the biological clock.
Cluster headaches and migraines: what causes them?
The current study looked at two different types of headaches, although there are significant differences between the two.
A migraine can linger all day or even for several days if left untreated, whereas a cluster headache typically lasts for 30 to 90 minutes. A person typically only has one migraine at a time, however eight cluster headaches might occur in one day. You might experience a brief respite in between these cluster headaches, but the pain from a migraine may fluctuate throughout the day and persist.
While migraine headaches can occur everywhere on the head, cluster headaches only affect one side of the head (imagine around the eye or temple).
According to Rashmi Halker Singh, MD, a Mayo Clinic assistant professor of neurology and a member of the American Headache Society's board of directors, cluster headaches and migraines are influenced by genetic factors. She mentioned that she commonly encounters patients who arrive at her office in a frustrated state as they attempt to understand why they are suffering from these frequently severe headache bouts.
People want to know why this happens to them because migraines are much more common, according to Dr. Halker Singh, who is not connected to the current study. "This new study helps validate that—it identifies that there are more genes involved in migraine, for example, which makes it really interesting,"
It aids in highlighting other brain regions that are crucial to [the existence of] migraine as well.
According to Dr. Burish, one's likelihood of developing severe headaches is increased if there is a family history of them. He shared Dr. Halker Singh's opinion that this is related to genetics.
Although not by nearly as much as migraine, a family history of cluster headaches increases your likelihood of developing one. For reasons we do not fully understand, smoking actually raises your likelihood of developing cluster headaches, the doctor claimed.
The Seasonality of Heaches
The hypothalamus region of the brain, which controls a number of physical functions like a person's sleep patterns, body temperature, and even amount of hunger, is the focus of the theory developed by Dr. Burish and his team. This enables people to concentrate on when a headache will occur.
"At the commencement of both a cluster headache and a migraine headache, the hypothalamus is known to become active. We believe that headaches are interacting with the circadian rhythm system because the hypothalamus also regulates your circadian rhythms, the doctor stated.
It's crucial to remember that migraine and cluster headaches are two very different medical diseases, according to Dr. Halker Singh. She outlined how this study confirms the ability of a circadian rhythm to govern control an occurrence like a cluster headache.
She went on to say that while sleep can help with migraine recovery, the irony is that many people who suffer from them wake up in the middle of the night due to a migraine. However, it's not sleep that wakes them up; once more, the hypothalamus and circadian rhythms are involved.
Measures to Prevent Cluster Headaches and Migraine
Dr. Burish provided a few possibilities for modern headache treatments. He pointed out that there are two distinct groups for these treatments: acute drugs and prevention meds. While preventative drugs are given frequently to lessen headache frequency and intensity, acute medications are administered to break a headache as it is happening.
Prednisone and melatonin are two preventive therapies for cluster headache and migraine that have been shown to change the circadian clock. However, there aren't many other drugs on the market now that can change the circadian clock, he said.
Additionally, according to Dr. Burish, by comprehending how the circadian clock affects headaches, it may be possible to create In the future, there may be new medications "to prevent the headaches when they are most likely to occur."
Research on headaches: Next Steps
The lack of information on the variables that might affect a person's circadian cycles was one of the study's limitations. When asked how this knowledge could improve their comprehension of these headaches and how they act, Dr. Burish responded that it would provide "more detail about the best way to help patients."
Working the night shift, for instance, alters your circadian rhythms since you are awake and active when your body should be sleeping, according to Dr. Burish. We could try to develop medications that either imitate or counteract the effects that working the night shift has on your circadian rhythms if we discover that it alters your headaches in a specific way.
According to
document.write('
"At this moment, there is no test available to diagnose migraine. It can be reassuring to see research that demonstrates problems that correlate to what's going on with them, she said. The diagnosis is arrived at by speaking with my patients and assisting them in arriving at a diagnosis.
She continued by expressing optimism about potential future research that might result in new medicines.
Dr. Burish claims that's part of the strategy.
The next step, according to him, should be to learn more about how circadian cycles affect the hypothalamus, headache genes, and available painkillers. "With that information, we hope to be able to pinpoint specific headache triggers that we can then treat with drugs."
0 Comments