Verified by 
Key points
- Research shows that, despite the clichés, some headache sufferers have sexual desire during a headache and find pain relief from sexual activity.
- Migraine sufferers report more benefits from sex than those who suffer from tension or cluster headaches.
- Possible explanations for pain relief from headaches include sex as a distraction from the pain, post-orgasm relaxation, and endorphin release.
Oil and water. Alcohol and decisions. Science and religion. Salt and wounds. These are things that are often paired, but do not mix well. You could add headaches and sex to the list—at least that’s the well-worn cliché and the source of both old jokes and assumed nights of frustration. “Not tonight, I have a headache” has served as a valid justification to deny the sexual advances of a partner and as an excuse to deflect from other underlying conditions.
However, research has shown that not everyone experiencing a headache has a decreased libido and wants to be left untouched. In fact, they may desire a sexual encounter, and for some headache sufferers, sex provides the pain relief they need. Two studies have addressed the issues of headaches, sexual desire, and pain relief.
Wake Forest Migraine Study
Researchers in the Anesthesiology Department in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Houle et al., 2006) conducted a study on the relationship between migraine headaches and sexual desire. Migraines are a severe and painful throbbing in the head that is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity. Sixty-eight headache sufferers participated in the study.
Out of this modest sample size, the researchers found that not all people who suffer from headaches avoid sex. Research participants who suffered from migraine headaches reported higher levels of sexual desire than those who suffered from other categories of headaches. In fact, migraine sufferers reported sexual desire 20 percent higher than those who suffered from tension headaches, the most common type of headache, manifesting as a pain in the head and neck accompanied by tight muscles in the regions of pain.
The researchers hypothesized that migraine headaches and sexual desire may be influenced by the same chemical—serotonin. Higher levels of serotonin in individuals corresponded with low sexual desire. With migraine headaches, low levels of serotonin are present.
Migraine and Cluster Headache Relief Study
Some migraine sufferers report pain relief attributed to sexual activity and orgasm. Hambach et al. (2013) reported the results of surveys returned by 133 headache sufferers. Of these, 103 were categorized as migraine sufferers and the other 30 suffered from cluster headaches. A cluster headache is defined as a series of brief, but strong, headaches every day for weeks or months at a time.
The study was designed to evaluate the influence that sexual activity had on both migraine and cluster headaches. In the migraine group, despite the severity of symptoms associated with migraine headaches, the respondents were not always discouraged from participating in sexual activity. The researchers noted the unusual nature of this finding as physical activity, even slight activity, can heighten the severity of the migraine.
A majority of the migraine sufferers found benefit in sexual activity in relation to their headaches. Sexual activity and orgasm were reported to relieve or completely dissolve the migraine. Migraine mitigation was reported by 73.3 percent of male respondents and 58 percent of female respondents.
The study found that migraine sufferers found more benefit from sexual activity than those in the study that suffered from cluster headaches. Eleven cluster headaches sufferers (N=30) reported relief due to sexual activity. Of those eleven, ten respondents were male. One potential reason for this difference between the groups, considered by the researchers, is that migraine sufferers may be able to more easily note changes in their headache due to the more severe nature of the migraine than the cluster headache.
Hambach et al. propose several possible reasons for sex being a mitigating factor for some headache sufferers. These explanations include the sex itself being a distraction from the pain, the release of endorphins that correspond with sexual activity and orgasm, post-orgasm relaxation, and the variety of physiological reflexes associated with sexual activity could be a general cause of pain relief. Furthermore, the researchers concur with the hypothesis by the researchers in the Wake Forest University study that migraines and sexual desire are both impacted by serotonin levels.
Of course, as with any sexual activity, whether or not one desires sex is purely up to the individual. One person with a headache may be sexually aroused and looking for the pain relief sexual activity brings them (along with an orgasm). Another person with a headache may not want another person around them within 50 feet. For some, sex with a partner may be acceptable during a headache, while others may just want to seek pain relief by masturbating themselves to orgasm.
Houle et al. (2006) suggest that migraine sufferers may be more likely to have sexual desire and find pain relief through sexual activity. But the relation of sex to headaches is purely a matter of the sufferer’s inclination. And I think we are far from a time when we will commonly hear, “Let’s do it tonight, honey—I have a headache.”
Facebook image: LightField Studios/Shutterstock
References
Hambach, A., Evers, S., Summ, O., Husstedt, I.W., & Frese, A. (2013). The impact of sexual activity on idiopathic headaches: An observational study. Cephalalgia, 0(0), 1-6. DOI: 10.1177/0333102413476374
Houle, T.T., Dhingra, L.K., Remble, T.A., Rokicki, L.A., & Penzien, D.B. (2006). Not tonight, I have a headache? Headache, 46(1), 983-990.
