Most people will get a stress headache at least once every so often but there are also people for whom they are common occurrences. A headache can spoil your day and make it hard to concentrate on what you want to do. There are a lot of remedies for stress headaches out there but if they happen on a chronic basis, make sure you see your doctor. For the most part, though, home remedies and some basic lifestyle changes and shifts are more than enough to cure your tension headaches.
Lots of tension headaches are caused by eyestrain which is a common issue these days because so many people are spending the majority of their days staring into computer screens. When you add television and texting to this, you are straining your eyes quite a lot! While it’s likely that you aren’t able to quit your job, if that is the main cause of your eyestrain, you can still reduce the problem enough to keep the headaches away. For example, you can give your eyes a break by looking away from your screen for a little bit. Do this a lot so that your eyes aren’t forced to continue staring at the screen for a long time without getting a chance to rest. It is possible to further protect your eyes by putting a protective screen over your monitor to reduce (sometimes) radiation and (all the time) glare.
You probably don’t believe that posture has much to do with headaches, but the truth is that chronically bad posture can feed into headaches. People who spend a long time working at a computer stations, for example, suffer from this problem. One big problem is leaning forward with your head because it can put extra pressure on your neck and back. As you sit and walk try to be alert for extra tension in your neck or shoulders. Aside from working on sitting up straight, you may want to get regular massages or chiropractic treatments.
There are also other systems, such as the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais Method that work specifically on healthier posture. You can look for a professional practitioner of these methods or you can learn more about yourself by doing an internet search for videos that you can learn from.
What you eat or drink can contribute to headaches, though people don’t always make the connection. What you think is a tension headache might actually just be a sensitivity or allergy to food. Lots of people find that drinking booze, even just a little bit, can cause headaches. Another common cause of headaches is caffeine, especially if you drink a lot of soda, tea, coffee or energy drinks during the day. Cutting back on caffeine is usually the primary solution to getting rid of your headaches. Some people get headaches from eating other foods, such as chocolate, cheese or peanuts/peanut butter, depending on what you’re sensitive to. Try to find out if there is a connection between your headaches and anything you’ve eaten or drunk.
There are a lot of treatments for stress headaches, some of which have been outlined here. Perhaps the most obvious remedy for a stress headache is a reduction in stress but it might be really hard for you to actually do that. It is still, however, something to focus on because stress is terrible on the body; headaches are just one of the problems.
