The A to Z of Headaches

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Headaches During Sexual Intercourse
By Wendy Simons

Sex-based headaches can sneak in on you at any stage of the sexual act. They are a problem because they can come on abruptly and with great intensity. The sudden occurrence of a headache during sexual intercourse, particularly at the time of orgasm, naturally causes a great deal of anxiety. A woman may think that she is about to die of a brain hemorrhage. Although this is possible, such cases are rare. Actually, sexual headaches are usually benign, especially if you have had them before.

Headache that occurs during sex is triggered by the profound hormonal changes that takes place during the act. In response to the adrenal hormone activity associated with sexual arousal, your heart rate speeds up and your blood vessels constrict, resulting in blood pressure that can double and go up as high as 220/120 during orgasm. These same adrenal hormones cause your muscles to constrict. With the exception of some residual heart rhythm irregularities, everything returns to normal again in less than two minutes after orgasm.

Such rapid physiological changes causes the exertion headaches that sometimes result from a sudden increase in physical activity. But researchers now suspect that sexual headaches frequently have a psychological component as well. Emotional stress such as anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, or sorrow amplifies the normal effect of the adrenal gland's hormones that are circulating in the blood in response to the physical activity associated with having sex.

The secretion of hormones is normal during any intense physical activity, including sexual intercourse. The same is true of short-lived stress like driving in traffic or having a fight with a loved one. But health problems arise when the stress, either physical or emotional, persists over long periods of time, leaving the body in a constant state of adrenal arousal.

If a woman with a predisposition to headache engages in sex when she is under stress, she is essentially getting a double dose of adrenal hormones, especially if she has been experiencing that stress for a prolonged time. The excessive output of hormones intensifies the normal strain that sexual activity places on the circulatory system, and headaches during orgasm can result.

A woman's circulatory system is not the only part of her body that is affected by abnormally high hormone levels. Even stress-free sexual activity involves a great deal of controlled muscle contraction that ultimately leads to orgasm. The muscles of the neck and jaw gets tighter as a woman reaches climax. During orgasm itself, she may frown, scowl, or grimace as her facial muscles contract involuntarily in semi-spasm. The jaws frequently clench spastically, as do the muscles of the neck.

That is because orgasm is an involuntary reflex during which there is a sudden release of the muscular tension and congested blood vessels produced by sexual stimulation. This is the reason that unresolved emotional stress, and the adrenal hormone output such prolonged stress generates trigger tension headaches during sex.

Author Details:
Wendy Simons, writes for various websites, mainly about skin care, microdermabrasion and other health matters. If you are looking for further information try these migraine articles from Simply Top

Source: The A to Z of Headaches

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