Other Headache Types

Cluster Headaches are considered vascular and affect less than 1 percent of Americans, and six times more men than women. The pain is intense and almost always occurs on one side of the head. Eye redness, tearing and nasal drainage often accompany the pain. Such headaches are short-lived, lasting 15 to 90 minutes, and may occur several times per day for weeks or months. New research indicates that people who get cluster headaches experience a drop in melatonin during the night. This suggests that melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep patterns, may affect cluster headaches, but more research is needed.¹

Tension Headaches, also known as muscle contraction headaches, account for 90 percent of all headaches. They are neither vascular nor migrainous and are unrelated to any disease. Tension headaches occur when muscles tighten in the back of the neck and in the face or scalp. Myofascial pain dysfunction, sometimes called temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), is characterized by teeth clenching and grinding and can contribute to tension headaches. Trauma, injury and environmental or internal stress can also provoke such headaches.

Mixed Headaches strike some people almost daily and share characteristics with migraine and tension headaches. People who experience mixed headaches generally suffer from depression and sleep disturbances as well.

References

1. Leone M, et al. Melatonin versus placebo in the prophylaxis of cluster headache: a double-blind pilot study with parallel groups. Cephalalgia 1986 Nov;16(7):494-6.