It happens to me almost every day for the past few months. I wake up with a dull pain at my temples, and it gets a bit better after I have a coffee and a shower. I sleep about 7-8 hours but I don't feel really rested. That's not normal, right?
First of all, don't self-diagnose or assume it's necessarily serious just because it's been going on - but that's also no reason to do nothing about it. A few months is a long time, and the fact that you don't feel properly rested even with 7-8 hours of sleep is important information. It could be linked to tons of factors: sleep quality rather than duration, your pillow position, nighttime dehydration, sleep apnea, muscle tension, or even just caffeine compensating for a real lack of rest.
What I'd suggest before you freak out: check your sleep environment (temperature, light, noise), try a week without coffee in the morning to see if it makes a difference, and note exactly what the pain feels like - is it like a hammer pounding, a band tightening, is it pulsing? If you snore, if you're gasping at night, if you have apneas, those are clues. Also hydrate better during the day, especially in the evening.
After a week or two of keeping track, if it persists or gets worse, actually see a doctor. A doctor can check your blood pressure, rule out chronic migraines, sleep apnea or whatever else. It's not an emergency for tomorrow, but it's not nothing either - you deserve to wake up without a headache, you know.
That's clearly not normal if it's been going on for months - you really need to see a doctor about it. It could be coming from tons of things - poorly managed stress, a sleep problem even if you're sleeping long enough, the position you sleep in, dehydration, or even stress itself. The fact that it gets better with coffee and a shower is just temporary relief, not a solution. Before you go to a doctor, try noting down over a few days if there's something in common (alcohol the night before, certain pillows, changing schedules, screen time late in the evening), but honestly if it keeps happening you really need to talk to a professional about it.
Persistent morning headaches are definitely worth taking seriously, but don't jump straight to the doctor without checking a few things first. Look at your sleep environment - a bad neck position (pillow too high or too low), a poorly ventilated room, or even dehydration at night can create exactly this pattern. The fact that coffee gives you temporary relief is a good sign there might be a vascular component or caffeine deficit involved, so try a week of serious hydration before you draw any conclusions. If it keeps happening after that, then yeah you should see a doctor, because after two or three months it's no longer just bad luck.
It can come from so many things, but I noticed that when I sleep in a room that's badly ventilated or too hot, I systematically wake up with pain in my temples - like exactly what you're describing. Before you freak out and call your doctor, try checking three things: the humidity and temperature in your bedroom, whether you clench your jaw at night (bruxism), and how much water you're actually drinking before bed. If it's been chronic for months despite making adjustments, then yeah that's when you should see a doctor - not just to reassure yourself but because a doctor can rule out real issues (high blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc.).
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