Have you ever noticed you might get more headaches when you change the clocks for daylight saving time? It’s not just a figment of your imagination. It’s real, according to the experts at Mount Sinai.
Fred Cohen, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a headache specialist at the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Center for Headache Treatment and Translational Research, says there might be some science to why this is happening. And the key to avoiding headaches is making sure you get enough quality sleep, seven to eight hours, even if you change the clocks.
Fred Cohen, MD
It turns out sleep is one of the most important aspects of headache health.
Sleep allows our brain time to clean itself. There are chemical substances in the brain called neuropeptides and neurotransmitters that transmit messages in your brain that you use during the day. If you don’t sleep well, the brain can’t clean itself properly. The build-up of neuropeptides can cause inflammation, and inflammation leads to headaches.
“So that’s why it’s very important that we have good quality sleep, and that’s just not sleeping too little or sleeping too much,” Dr. Cohen says. Good quality sleep means you are not repeatedly waking up during the night or experiencing problems such as snoring, gasping for air, or going to the bathroom often.
“When daylight savings comes around, whether it’s spring forward or fall back, it’s very important to preserve seven to eight hours of sleep to prevent this from causing headache attacks,” Dr. Cohen says.
However, if you notice you are having frequent headaches, it may be worthwhile to contact a headache specialist.