Most headaches last between 30 minutes and a few hours, but the actual duration depends entirely on what type of headache you’re dealing with. A tension headache can wrap up in half an hour or drag on for days. A migraine can last up to three days. A cluster headache might be over in 15 minutes. Knowing what’s typical for each type helps you figure out whether what you’re experiencing is routine or worth investigating.
Tension Headaches: 30 Minutes to 7 Days
Tension headaches are the most common type, and they have the widest duration range of any everyday headache. A mild episode can resolve in about 30 minutes, while a stubborn one can persist for up to a full week. Most fall somewhere in the middle, lasting a few hours. The pain tends to build slowly, often described as a band of pressure around the forehead or the back of the head, and it fades gradually rather than stopping abruptly.
If you’re getting these headaches more than 15 days per month for three months or longer, they’re classified as chronic rather than episodic. Chronic tension headaches can feel nearly constant, with the pain fluctuating in intensity throughout the day but rarely disappearing completely.
Migraines: Hours to 3 Days (Plus Extra Phases)
The headache phase of a migraine typically lasts from several hours to up to three days. But the full experience often extends well beyond that, because migraines unfold in stages.
Before the pain starts, many people go through a prodrome phase that can last several hours or even stretch over multiple days. During this time you might notice subtle changes like fatigue, food cravings, neck stiffness, or mood shifts. About one in four migraine sufferers also experience an aura, which involves visual disturbances, tingling, or other sensory changes that develop over at least five minutes and usually resolve within an hour (though in roughly 20% of cases, aura lasts longer than 60 minutes).
After the headache itself ends, there’s often a postdrome or “migraine hangover” that varies in length from person to person. During this phase you may feel drained, foggy, or unusually sensitive for hours afterward. So while the actual pain might last a day, the total disruption from a single migraine attack can span two to four days when you account for all phases.
Chronic migraine is defined as headache occurring on 15 or more days per month for longer than three months, with at least 8 of those days having migraine features.
Cluster Headaches: 15 Minutes to 3 Hours
Cluster headaches are shorter than other types but far more intense. A single attack lasts 15 minutes to three hours, with an average of about 30 minutes. The pain is severe and one-sided, usually centered around one eye, and it comes on fast.
What makes cluster headaches unique is the pattern. Attacks tend to happen at the same time each day and can strike up to eight times in a 24-hour period. These daily episodes repeat for weeks to months during a “cluster period,” which commonly lasts about three months before going into remission.
Dehydration Headaches: A Few Hours
A headache caused by dehydration usually lasts a few hours and typically resolves on its own once you drink water and rest. If the pain persists beyond a few hours after rehydrating, something else may be contributing. These headaches tend to feel like a dull ache across the entire head rather than pain concentrated in one spot, and they often come alongside thirst, dark urine, or fatigue.
Post-Concussion Headaches: 2 to 3 Weeks
After a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury, headaches are one of the most common symptoms. The brain typically takes two to three weeks to heal, and headaches usually resolve on their own during that window as you gradually return to normal activity. In some cases, though, headaches persist well beyond that initial recovery period and become harder to fully eliminate. Persistent post-traumatic headache is diagnosed when head pain continues for more than three months after the injury.
Rebound Headaches From Overusing Pain Medication
If you’re taking pain relievers frequently, the medication itself can start causing headaches. This creates a frustrating cycle: you take more medication to treat the headache, which makes the problem worse. Rebound headaches generally resolve after you stop taking the offending medication, though there’s often a rough withdrawal period before they improve. The key signal is a headache that keeps coming back despite regular use of over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers.
When a Headache Is an Emergency
A thunderclap headache reaches peak intensity within 60 seconds. It feels like the worst headache of your life, hitting maximum severity almost instantly rather than building gradually. This pattern can signal a brain bleed or other life-threatening condition and requires immediate emergency care.
Any headache that comes on suddenly and severely, a headache accompanied by fever and stiff neck, a headache after a head injury, or a headache with confusion, weakness, or vision changes also warrants urgent evaluation. Duration matters, but the speed of onset and accompanying symptoms are often more important warning signs than how many hours the pain lasts.
Quick Duration Comparison
- Tension headache: 30 minutes to 7 days
- Migraine (headache phase): several hours to 3 days
- Migraine (full attack with all phases): up to 4+ days
- Cluster headache (single attack): 15 minutes to 3 hours
- Dehydration headache: a few hours with rehydration
- Post-concussion headache: typically 2 to 3 weeks
- Thunderclap headache: peaks within 60 seconds (emergency)