When sleep is the unrecognized cause
Tension headaches, migraines, and chronic dizziness can all be aggravated — or driven entirely — by fragmented sleep. Sleep apnea raises intracranial pressure during the night; insomnia disrupts pain-modulating brain networks. Both can present as a headache problem.
Patterns we evaluate
- Morning headaches that resolve by mid-morning
- Chronic dizziness without identified vestibular cause
- Migraines worsening after years of stability
- Tension headaches resistant to analgesics
- Headache with concurrent snoring, daytime fatigue, or witnessed apnea
How we evaluate
- Sleep medicine consultation focused on sleep-pain interaction
- Polysomnogram to identify or rule out sleep-disordered breathing
- Coordination with neurology when central pain pathways may need direct treatment
What treatment looks like
If a sleep-disordered breathing pattern is identified, treating it — typically with CPAP — frequently resolves morning headaches within four to eight weeks. For insomnia-driven headaches, cognitive behavioral therapy plus sleep architecture work produces measurable improvement.
Unexplained dizziness and chronic headache, sleep treatment clears the fog that years of analgesics could not.— Seoul Sleep Center principle