Why Does a Headache Occur After Being Forcibly Woken from a Dream?

Question: Why does one have a headache when a dream is forcibly interrupted and one wakes up, but no headache when the dream finishes naturally and one wakes up on one's own?

Answer: Dreaming is done by the manas. When the manas has matters on its mind and is not tranquil, it must manifest them in dreams. If the dream is suddenly and forcibly interrupted, the manas's concerns remain unresolved, and it will feel distressed; when He feels distressed, He will cause a headache. This is an example of the mind influencing the body. Whether the manas is pleased or displeased, it will engage in actions and manifest them in the body—for example, dancing with joy, beaming with delight, trembling all over, hair bristling with rage, and so on. From these phenomena, it can be seen that the manas has feeling, and moreover, it does not have only neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā). When a dream is forcibly interrupted and one immediately wakes up, one also immediately feels a headache. This headache has nothing to do with the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness merely feels the headache. What prompts the headache is the manas—He had not finished what He wanted to do, and being displeased and unable to bear it, He must vent it out. If one habitually recites mantras and engages in recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), so that the mind is pure and free of concerns, one will no longer dream, and one's sleep quality will also improve.