People with cluster headache often experience more than intense pain. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Headache, suggests that many also report symptoms of burnout and exhaustion, particularly during periods when headache attacks are frequent. The findings underline the importance of addressing sleep, recovery and daily functioning as part of patient care.
Cluster headache is a neurological condition characterised by recurring attacks of severe headache. In the new study, researchers investigated whether people with cluster headache also experience symptoms associated with burnout and exhaustion.
Burnout symptoms common during active periods
The results show that symptoms of burnout and exhaustion were common, particularly among people who were in an active period of cluster headache attacks. Around two thirds of participants in an active period reported high levels of burnout and exhaustion symptoms, compared with about one third of those whose condition was in remission. Symptoms also tended to decrease the longer a person had been free from attacks.
Photo: Jan Torbjörnsson
“Our study shows that cluster headache can drain people’s energy far beyond the headache attacks themselves. The high levels of burnout symptoms, especially during active periods, highlight the need to support sleep, recovery and daily functioning as part of cluster headache care,” says the study’s first author Felicia Jennysdotter Olofsgård , postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Neuroscience .
Sleep may play an important role
The researchers also found a strong connection between sleep and burnout symptoms. Poor sleep was associated with higher levels of exhaustion, and sleep deprivation was more often reported as a trigger for headache attacks among participants with high burnout symptom scores.
The study is based on an online survey of people with cluster headaches in Sweden. Participants answered questions about their headache status, sleep, lifestyle and symptoms of exhaustion. The researchers then compared responses from people experiencing active headache periods with those who were in remission.
As the study is based on survey data collected at a single point in time, the researchers were able to identify associations between different symptoms, but not establish cause and effect. In addition, some diagnoses were self-reported.
A broader view of cluster headache
According to the researchers, the findings suggest that the impact of cluster headache extends beyond the pain itself. Severe exhaustion may affect a person’s ability to work, recover and take part in everyday life. Burnout symptoms have not previously been studied specifically in people with cluster headaches, making this an important area for future research.
Photo: Felicia Jennysdotter Olofsgård
“These findings suggest that healthcare professionals should pay closer attention to sleep and signs of exhaustion in people with cluster headache. Improving recovery may be an important part of helping patients manage their condition,” says Andrea Carmine Belin , principal researcher at the same department.
The next step is to follow people with cluster headache over time to better understand how burnout symptoms develop before, during and after active headache periods, and whether interventions aimed at sleep and recovery could improve daily life. A further goal is to better understand which patients are at greatest risk, so that healthcare professionals can identify them earlier and offer support before exhaustion becomes severe.
The study is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Danderyd Hospital and Stockholm University, and is funded primarily by the Mellby Gård Foundation, the Swedish Brain Foundation, the Swedish Research Council, Karolinska Institutet’s research funds and the Magnus Bergvall Foundation.
Publication
” Evidence of High Rates of Burnout Symptoms in a Cohort with Cluster Headache “, Felicia Jennysdotter Olofsgård, Caroline Ran, Stefan Spulber, Anna Steinberg, Christina Sjöstrand M, Elisabet Waldenlind, Maria Lantz, Anna Sundholm, Marie Söderström, Anna Dahlgren, Andrea Carmine Belin, Headache, 9 November 2026, doi: 10.1111/head.70213.
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