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Sleep-related headache

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Opinion statement

  • The relationship between sleep and headache has great individual variation.

  • Headaches that arise primarily out of sleep have a broader differential diagnosis than random headaches, and a specific cause should be identified, if possible.

  • Sleep apnea can trigger or cause sleep-related headaches.

  • Hypnic headache is one of a few specific, uncommon, idiopathic sleep-related headache syndromes.

  • Treatment of sleep-related headache includes treating the underlying cause, such as sleep apnea, and prescribing medications usually used for headache as well as medications for sleep disorders.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurology, Scripps Clinic and Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10666 North Torrey Pines Road, 92037, La Jolla, CA, USA

    J. Steven Poceta MD

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  1. J. Steven Poceta MD
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Poceta, J.S. Sleep-related headache. Curr Treat Options Neurol 4, 121–128 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-002-0020-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-002-0020-6

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