Crying can give you a headache because the muscles in your face, jaw, scalp, and neck tense up, which can trigger a tension-type headache. Strong emotions can also activate stress hormones, change breathing, and sometimes irritate the sinuses, all of which can make your head hurt.

Why it happens

  • Muscle tension: Crying often makes you clench your forehead, jaw, and around your eyes, which can lead to pressure and pain.
  • Stress response: Sadness, grief, or anxiety can raise stress hormones and make headache pathways more sensitive.
  • Breathing changes: Shallow or irregular breathing during intense crying may add to the feeling of head pressure.
  • Sinus pressure: Crying can worsen congestion and pressure around the nose and cheeks, especially if you already have a cold or allergies.

What it usually feels like

This is often a dull, tight, or throbbing pain rather than a sharp one, and it may feel like a band around your head or pressure at the temples. For some people, crying can also trigger a migraine if they are prone to them.

What helps

  • Drink some water.
  • Rest in a quiet, dim room.
  • Use a cool or warm compress.
  • Gently relax your jaw, forehead, and neck muscles.
  • If you get headaches often, track whether crying, stress, or lack of sleep are common triggers.

When to get checked

Seek medical advice if headaches after crying are frequent, severe, unusual for you, or come with vision changes, vomiting, weakness, fever, or confusion. Those symptoms can point to something beyond a normal tension headache.

Quick Scoop: crying headaches are usually caused by stress, muscle tension, and sometimes sinus pressure, and they tend to be temporary.