A 2009 study that was published in 2009 by the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine discovered a somewhat reciprocal connection between napping and headaches. In a study that included 32 women suffering from anxiety headaches as well as 33 females suffering from mild head pain, the researchers utilized questionnaire data to examine the ways that subjects incorporated the management of their symptoms. Although relaxation, medication, application of cold or hot compresses as well as distraction techniques were among the self-reported methods of coping and more than 80% stated that they used sleeping as their primary treatment strategy for symptom control (via American Academy of Sleep Medicine).
However the majority of females reported that sleeping seemed to trigger headaches particularly for insomnia sufferers according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “Insomnia is a frequent complaint for headache sufferers,” principal investigator Dr. Jason C. Ong writes in the journal. “While napping can ease discomfort, it can cause inadequate sleep hygiene, thereby creating sleep disturbances or prolonging the insomnia episode.” So, even though taking naps during the midday hours can help ease headache symptoms temporarily but they may make us stay up late that night. The lack of sleep could trigger headaches that last throughout the day.
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