If you have a high stress level (and who doesn’t these days), you probably have a problem with headaches. Everybody gets headaches on occasion, but some people suffer from tension headaches on a regular basis. While you need to get help from your doctor if you have headaches frequently or severely, home remedies like the ones we’ll be talking about here could also help you.

An ice pack can be a fast and effective remedy for a stress headache. You can use a cold towel, perhaps wrapped around a bag of ice, or even a bag of frozen vegetables. Lie down with it and try to relax as every few minutes you move it from the top of your head to the back of your neck to your forehead. You can keep it longest in the area where you feel the most pain. Ice will reduce the inflammation which, in turn, reduces the amount of pain you feel. Even though this won’t cure whatever is causing your headaches, it can offer you some good (though temporary) relief. Cold caffeinated beverages like iced coffee and tea are good quick cures for a stress headache.

Both coldness and caffeine constrict blood vessels that cause tension headaches. Yet you have to be careful about depending on this technique, as consuming too much caffeine can also cause headaches in the long run, as you start to experience withdrawal symptoms when you haven’t had your “fix.” So when you experience a particularly difficult tension headache, some help might be found in a cold caffeinated beverage but you also need to work on lowering your stress levels as well as lowering anything else that might be making you have the headaches.

What you drink or eat can feed into your headaches but not everybody is able to make that connection. You might think it’s a tension headache but it might actually be a food allergy or drink sensitivity. Some people find that alcohol, even small amounts, can cause headaches. Another common culprit is caffeine, especially if you consume many cups of coffee, tea, soda or caffeinated energy drinks in a day. If you want to stop these particular headaches, you need to dramatically reduce your caffeine intake. Some people get headaches from eating other foods, such as chocolate, cheese or peanuts/peanut butter, depending on what you’re sensitive to. See if there might be a connection between your headaches and the foods that you have been eating and drinking. There are lots of ways to treat your stress headaches and you can start with one of the methods we’ve talked about here. Check out chiropractor Cary NC for more health tips.

Overall, the best way to prevent these type of headaches from occurring is to learn how to relax, even in situations that tend to make you tense. This might not be simple but you honestly can train yourself to keep life from getting the best of you so often. Reducing your stress does quite a lot for you not the least of which is stopping your stress headaches.