How to Get Rid of Modafinil Headache

How exactly does one get rid of a Modafinil headache?

Before we share our recommendations, it is important to note two things. First, that Modafinil headaches usually appear around 2-3 hours after administration, which coincides with the time when it is working most effectively. Second, Modafinil headaches rarely last longer than an entire day [15].

Some of these recommendations tend to solve the problem of a Modafinil headache relatively quickly, while others may not be as effective. It is up to each individual to experiment and determine what works best for them.

After all, pharmaceutical drugs will always react differently to different people, due to our unique and individual biochemistry.

Here are some tips for how some test subjects have successfully gotten rid of Modafinil headaches in the past:

Hydration

One of Modafinil’s common side effects is dehydration, which in and of itself can be a major source of headache pain [16]:

“When the body is dehydrated, the brain can temporarily contract or shrink from fluid loss. This mechanism causes the brain to pull away from the skull, causing pain and resulting in a dehydration headache. Once rehydrated, the brain plumps up and returns to its normal state, relieving the headache.”

This is by far the easiest fix for a Modafinil headache and one that comes highly recommended. The intense focus provided by Modafinil makes it easy to forget to stay hydrated while working.

Our general recommendation is to consume 2 liters of water in even sips throughout the day if you take 100 mg of Modafinil, and 4 liters of water if you are taking 200 mg of Modafinil.

You may also supplement your water intake with electrolytes, as an electrolyte imbalance can often lead to headaches. Drinking Pedialyte is also a viable option here.

And while we have not personally used this method, adding salt to your water intake may slow the speed at which your kidneys excrete water from your body. This will help retain more water and thus ensure you stay hydrated.

Food

Believe it or not, there are headaches that can be induced by high levels of hunger [17]:

“If you haven’t had anything to eat in a while, your blood sugar levels can drop. In response, your body releases hormones that signal your brain that you’re hungry. These same hormones may increase your blood pressure and tighten blood vessels in your body, triggering a headache.”

While Modafinil is anecdotally more effective when taken in on an empty stomach, this is not necessarily a healthy approach. As with hydration, Modafinil can make it very easy for smart drug users to skip meals and it is a well-known appetite suppressant.

A solution to this problem would be to schedule the ties of the day in which you eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At the very least, a decent-sized nutritious breakfast should be consumed before taking Modafinil.

Ensuring your body has all the nutrients it needs will help minimize your chances of getting a Modafinil headache, or at the very least reducing the level pain brought on by a Modafinil headache.

Sleep

Getting inadequate sleep is yet another little-known cause of tension headaches [18]. Just 1-3 hours of lost sleep is enough to induce a headache that lasts a few hours to an entire day. Not to mention that consistently poor sleep can be damaging for your overall health.

Since Modafinil promotes wakefulness, you must dose the smart drug to ensure you can get to sleep each night at an appropriate hour. This means taking it as early in the morning as possible, ideally no later than 10am.

Many users have found headaches go away once they start getting better sleep at night.

Less Modafinil

One of the most common mistakes made by beginner-level Modafinil users is to go beyond the recommended dose of 100-200 mg per day, 1-3 times per week. They will up the dosage to 300-400 mg a day, sometimes taking Modafinil every single day of the week.

Unsurprisingly, Modafinil headaches are often connected to an overdose [19].

The most straightforward solution is to simply reduce your Modafinil dose. Lowering the Modafinil dosage to 200 mg and limiting its use to a few times a week have helped most of our test subjects (in combination with proper hydration and nutrition).

Another strategy may involve further splitting your daily dose of Modafinil into two smaller doses. For instance, if you intend to take 200 mg of Modafinil a day, you may consider taking 100 mg in the early morning and another 100 mg before 2pm. For some users, this may interfere with their normal sleep schedule.

More Physical Exercise

If Modafinil is preventing you from adhering to a fitness regimen, it would be worth your while to get regular exercise. There is a significant amount of research demonstrating that frequent exercise can be a useful treatment for tension-type headaches [20].

You do not need to spend hours working out in a gym. Even a quick 30-minute lifting session or jog should help ward off Modafinil headaches. Just don’t forget to follow the other tips above, especially the one regarding the importance of hydration.

And in the rare event where you can’t make it to the gym, deep breathing exercises can do wonders for reducing SNS stimulation and therefore your anxiety levels.

Poor Posture

When you spend 8-10 hours sitting down and typing away at a keyboard with poor posture, you’re inducing a state of chronic stress across the muscles in the head, neck and upper shoulders. This can eventually lead to tension-type headaches [21]:

“It is thought that poor posture such as forward head extension may result in tension build-up in the shoulders, neck, and upper back which can cause headaches and migraines. Research investigating the presence of musculoskeletal dysfunctions and the prevalence of migraines found that those with migraines were more likely to also have several musculoskeletal dysfunctions aside from forward head posture.”

To fix this, we highly recommend taking frequent breaks during your workday. Something as simple as standing up and stretching for 10 minutes after every 60 minutes of seated work will do wonders for your body. It will also give your mind a much-needed mental break.

See if you can actively practice good standing posture. In combination with a regular exercise routine, it may help alleviate the pain associated with Modafinil headaches.

Stop Mixing Modafinil With Other Stimulants

If your headache from Modafinil still isn’t resolved, you may want to take a look at other nootropics you are stacking with Modafinil. Stimulants such as caffeine can lead to withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking them, with one of the most common outcomes being a painful headache [22].

Try to take Modafinil on its own for a few days to see if removing other stimulants helps resolve the Modafinil headache.

Alternatively, there is some evidence suggesting that Armodafinil leads to a lower incidence of headaches compared to Modafinil [23].