A recent study looked at the stress and health behavior triggers in children with headaches. Twenty-five children used electronic dairies three times a day for two weeks. They recorded their headache occurrences, stressors, sleep and wake times, and sleep quality. Type and timing of food and drink intake were also noted. While nights when a child had less than his or her standard amount of sleep time tended to predict a headache, changes in stress level most often predicted one.
As in adults, daily stressors are a genuine trigger for children with headaches. Helping children reduce and manage daily stressors may help them to sleep better as well as have less headaches. Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain April, 2012 Connelly M, Bickel J.