Getting a headache at work can feel ordinary. You dim the screen, take a pill, and push through the next meeting. When this happens every month, though, it may be less of a nuisance and more of a warning sign.
Nuria Pilar Riesco, a neurologist at Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, says two common reactions can backfire. Some workers ignore the pain and keep moving, while others use painkillers so often that the headache becomes harder to control, especially when the real problem is migraine.
When pills become a pattern
Painkillers can help with an occasional headache. The trouble starts when they become part of the monthly routine, like coffee before a shift. At that point, medicine may hide the problem instead of solving it.
The American Migraine Foundation warns that frequent use of headache medication can lead to medication-overuse headache, a pattern where treatment helps drive more head pain.
Depending on the drug, concern may begin when people use some medicines ten or fifteen days a month for several months.
That does not mean every pill is a mistake, it means the calendar matters. The specialist put it plainly, saying, “People who normalize taking painkillers every month will, in the long run, find it much harder to control their headache.”
Migraine is different
So how can someone tell the difference between a bad workday headache and migraine? Migraine is not simply a stronger headache. It is a recurring disorder that can affect vision, stomach comfort, energy, and sensitivity to light or sound.
The World Health Organization describes migraine attacks as often moderate to severe, sometimes one-sided, and commonly made worse by routine movement. Nausea and sensitivity to light and sound can also appear, which explains why a quiet, dark room may feel better than a walk around the block.
A tension-type headache often feels more like pressure around the head. It may show up late in the day after stress, posture strain, or tiredness. A short rest may help, but migraines often refuse to play by those rules.
Work can trigger pain
Modern work can be a headache machine to a large extent. Bright artificial lights, screens, loud rooms, strong odors, and constant multitasking can all add pressure. Think of a perfume counter, a noisy open office, or a late shift under harsh lighting.
Stress is another piece of the puzzle. Not the dramatic kind only, but the steady drip of emails, deadlines, meetings, and small decisions. What happens when the brain never gets a real pause?
Shift workers may face an extra burden because irregular sleep can make headaches harder to predict. Health care workers, police officers, firefighters, and others with rotating schedules often cannot simply go to bed at the same time every night–working conditions matter.
The workplace cost is real
The Sociedad Española de Neurología, known as SEN, says migraine affects more than five million people in Spain and is among the leading causes of lost productivity at work. During attacks, more than half of patients reduce their activity, and roughly one in five to one in three need bed rest.
That data helps explain why pushing through is not always productive. A person may be physically present but slower, quieter, and less able to focus. At the office, that’s a half-finished report, a missed call, or a worker staring at a screen while the pain climbs.
Food and rest matter
Food can play a role, but not always in the way people imagine. The specialist notes that there is no clear proof that removing one specific food will prevent attacks for everyone. The simpler advice is less glamorous, but easier to apply.
Skipping meals, going too long without water, and living on ultra-processed snacks can all make the workday rougher. On a sticky summer afternoon, dehydration is not a theory–you feel it.
When work needs to bend
A migraine-friendly workplace does not require turning an office into a clinic, it may simply start with basic flexibility. Letting someone take a short break, dim a light, move away from noise, or work from home during an attack can prevent a lost day.
Flexible schedules also help. Some people can pause for thirty minutes or an hour and return once medication and rest begin to help. Others, especially during longer attacks, may need to go home.
This is where managers have to be practical rather than suspicious. A migraine is invisible, but that does not make it minor. The goal is a setup that lets people keep working without making their condition worse.
When to call a doctor
A single headache after a long day is usually not the same as a pattern, but if headaches show up every month for several days, medical advice becomes important. Waiting too long can turn a treatable problem into a harder one.
It is also time to ask for help when the pain interrupts normal activity, worsens with movement, or brings strong sensitivity to light, noise, or odors. Needing bed rest often is another sign. Do not just power through.
At the end of the day, the message is simple: a headache that keeps coming back deserves attention, not silence, shame, or a pocket full of pills.
The main interview has been published in La Vanguardia.
