Most headaches last anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours, but the full range depends entirely on the type. A tension headache can wrap up in half an hour or drag on for a week. A migraine can last up to three days. Knowing which kind of headache you’re dealing with is the fastest way to estimate when you’ll feel better.
Tension Headache Duration
Tension headaches are the most common type, and their duration has a wide range: about 30 minutes on the short end, up to seven days on the long end. Most episodes fall somewhere in between, resolving within a few hours. The pain is typically a dull, pressing sensation on both sides of the head, sometimes wrapping around like a band. These headaches respond well to over-the-counter pain relievers and tend to ease once you address common triggers like stress, poor sleep, or prolonged screen time.
If you get tension headaches only occasionally, each one is essentially independent, and the duration of one episode doesn’t predict the next. But if they start showing up more than 15 days per month, that pattern shifts the diagnosis to chronic tension-type headache, which often needs a different management approach than just treating each episode as it comes.
How Long Migraines Last
A migraine attack lasts 4 to 72 hours when untreated. That’s a wide window, and where you land within it varies from person to person and even attack to attack. The pain is usually throbbing, concentrated on one side of the head, and intense enough to interfere with daily activities. Nausea, sensitivity to light, and sensitivity to sound are common companions.
What many people don’t realize is that a migraine is more than just the headache phase. Before the pain starts, you might notice subtle warning signs like fatigue, food cravings, or mood changes. Some people experience aura, which can include visual disturbances like zigzag lines or temporary blind spots, typically lasting 20 to 60 minutes before the headache begins. After the pain resolves, a “postdrome” phase can leave you feeling drained or foggy for another day or so. The total experience from start to finish can stretch well beyond the 72-hour headache window.
The threshold that separates episodic migraine from chronic migraine is 15 headache days per month, with at least 8 of those days meeting migraine criteria. If your headaches are creeping toward that frequency, tracking them in a journal or app gives you useful data to share with a doctor.
Cluster Headache Duration
Cluster headaches are shorter but far more intense. A single attack lasts 15 minutes to 3 hours, with the pain centered around or behind one eye. The affected eye may water or turn red, the nostril on that side may run or feel congested, and restlessness is common because lying down tends to make the pain worse.
The name “cluster” refers to the pattern: attacks come in bouts lasting weeks or months, during which you might get one to several attacks per day, often at the same time each day. These cluster periods are separated by remission periods that typically last months or years. So while any individual attack is relatively brief, the overall cycle can dominate your life for an extended stretch.
Sinus Headache Duration
Headaches caused by a sinus infection generally last as long as the infection itself, which is usually a week to 10 days. You’ll feel pressure and pain around your forehead, cheeks, or the bridge of your nose, and it typically worsens when you bend forward. Once the infection clears, the headache goes with it.
One important caveat: many headaches that people assume are sinus headaches are actually migraines. Migraine can cause facial pressure, nasal congestion, and even a runny nose, which makes it easy to confuse the two. If your “sinus headaches” keep coming back without signs of infection like thick discolored mucus or fever, migraine is worth considering. The distinction matters because the treatments are different, and misidentifying migraines as sinus headaches means you’re likely not managing them effectively.
Headaches After a Head Injury
After a concussion or mild head injury, headaches are one of the most common symptoms. The brain typically needs two to three weeks to heal, and headaches during that window usually resolve on their own as recovery progresses. Rest and a gradual return to normal activity help the process along.
When post-traumatic headaches persist beyond that initial recovery window, they often take on the characteristics of tension headaches or migraines and may require targeted treatment. The longer they continue, the more important it becomes to work with a provider who can identify which headache pattern has developed and address it specifically.
When Painkillers Make Headaches Last Longer
If you’re taking pain relievers for headaches more than two or three days per week, the medication itself can start causing a cycle of daily or near-daily headaches. This is called medication overuse headache (sometimes called rebound headache), and it’s one of the most common reasons a headache pattern that used to be occasional becomes constant.
The headaches will continue as long as the overuse continues. Once you stop or reduce the offending medication, most people see their rebound headaches fade within two months. More severe cases can take up to six months. The withdrawal period is often uncomfortable, with headaches temporarily worsening before they improve, which is why many people benefit from medical guidance during the transition.
Headaches That Need Immediate Attention
Most headaches, even painful ones, are not dangerous. But certain features signal something more serious. A sudden-onset headache that reaches maximum intensity within seconds, sometimes called a thunderclap headache, can indicate a vascular emergency like a ruptured aneurysm and needs evaluation right away.
Other warning signs include headache accompanied by fever, night sweats, or unexplained weight loss. Neurological symptoms that are new or unusual for you, such as weakness on one side of your body, new numbness, or vision changes, also warrant prompt attention. A first-ever headache starting after age 50 is more likely to have a secondary cause. And any headache pattern that is clearly getting worse over time, becoming more severe or more frequent in a way that feels like a progression rather than normal fluctuation, is worth investigating.
The common thread in all of these is that they break from the pattern of a typical primary headache. If a headache feels fundamentally different from anything you’ve experienced before, that difference itself is meaningful information.