Stress has a remarkable ability to follow people into the night.
A difficult work deadline, financial concerns, caregiving responsibilities, or unresolved emotional tension can keep the nervous system in a heightened state even during sleep. This can lead to muscle tightening around the neck, shoulders, scalp, and jaw.
Over time, this tension may trigger headaches that greet people first thing in the morning.
There is another factor that often goes unnoticed: teeth grinding, also known as bruxism. Stress-related grinding or clenching of the jaw during sleep can place considerable strain on facial muscles and joints, leading to headaches after waking.
A useful way to think about stress is that the body keeps score even when the mind tries to move on. The tension accumulated throughout the day often reveals itself during the hours that are supposed to be restorative.
