Headache after crying?!


Question: I just cried about 15 minutes ago (over a song) and feel emptier and less tense.

But now I have a headache.

Why do people get a headache after crying/sobbing hard?


Answers: I just cried about 15 minutes ago (over a song) and feel emptier and less tense.

But now I have a headache.

Why do people get a headache after crying/sobbing hard?

Not too sure, only got some theories... I theorise that it is a mixture of:
- stress (which can cause headaches)
- muscular tension/strain - we use a lot of muscles in our head/neck when we cry... I think the post-crying headache is a tension headache, the cause of which is not fully known, but is thought to be due to muscle tension
- dehydration (from loss of fluid, at least locally)
- perhaps due to a rise in blood pressure (or pressure in your head)
- we breathe differently when we cry, often in large gasps, thus the oxygen levels in our blood may be different... lack of oxygen can cause muscle cramps, which connects back to the tension-headache theory
I'm no doctor so I can't verify any of these, but these are all plausible causes IMO. I know that it really hurts, so I sympathise with you!!!

Yeah I do... if I cry at night the next day I'm all puffy hahaha but yeah I do always get a pretty good headache

Dehydration.
Crying makes you lose water.

I don't know but it hurts!

Just pressures you exert on yourself in my opinion. When I cry I tend to tense up my neck muscles which always give me a headache...

haha i dont think you lose enough water when you cry to make you dehydrated. Do some research on how much oozes from your pores every day :P

I think it has to do with your eyes being closely linked to the muscles in your forehead. If you have scrunched your eyes to cry then naturally the other muscles in your face will be affected. When you cry hard you usually use the same muscles as when you frown. Although you immediately feel less tense emotionally and throughout the rest of your body the head will naturally take a little longer to recover.





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