WHEN COFFEE IS THE CURE

NIGHT-TIME HEADACHE

SYMPTOM: Squeezing pain across the whole head that wakes you; pain lasts up to four hours.

POSSIBLE CAUSE: Hypnic headaches, also called alarm clock headaches, occur only at night. They generally begin after the age of 50, and typically last up to four hours.

Scans suggest they’re caused by the brain’s hypothalamus area, which has an important role in sleep and setting your internal clock, growing in volume. ‘It is a dreadful thing,’ says Peter Goadsby, a professor of neurology at King’s College London. ‘Some people have it for 20 to 25 years.’

TREATMENT: One in three people finds caffeine — a strong coffee at night before bed — solves the problem, says Professor Goadsby. How is not fully understood, but he suggests it’s worth risking caffeine-induced sleep disruption to end the pain in a safe manner.

Other treatments include lithium, usually used for bipolar disorder and the hormone melatonin — both are thought to help with the body’s internal clock.