What causes headaches at the back of the head in adolescents?

Headaches at the back of the head in adolescents may be caused by excessive mental stress, migraine attacks, or nerve pain in the head.

1. Excessive mental stress

If adolescents have a heavy academic workload and frequently stay up late into the night, the resulting high levels of stress may affect the nervous system, causing nerves to remain in a prolonged state of tension. This may lead to headaches at the back of the head. However, such headaches are usually mild and result from physiological factors. With timely adjustments to sleep schedules and routines, symptoms typically improve in most cases.

2. Migraine attack

If adolescents consistently have poor diets—frequently consuming foods such as cured meats, chocolate, pickled vegetables, or cheese—and also engage in prolonged late-night studying or phone use, these factors may trigger migraines, leading to the aforementioned symptoms.

3. Head nerve pain

If adolescents often stay up late using phones, computers, watching television, or studying, insufficient sleep may cause scalp muscles and brain nerves to remain tense over time, resulting in nerve-related head pain.