what is linux headers

linux-headers is a package 
	providing the Linux kernel headers. 
	These are part of the kernel, 
		although they are shipped separately  
The headers act as an interface 
	between internal kernel components and also between userspace and the kernel. 
	Packages like sys-libs/glibc depend on the kernel headers.

A common question regarding linux-headers is whether you need to keep them synced with your kernel version. 
	The answer is no. 
You can have a newer linux-headers version than your running kernel binary.

So for example, if you have kernel 4.1 installed, 
	you can have linux-headers 4.4. 
	If you compile your glibc with this newer headers and later upgrade to kernel 4.4, 
		you will be able to use the new features of this kernel without recompiling glibc again.