Tension Headache: Easy And Effective Remedies
Tension headache. Who hasn’t suffered from it at least once? That oppressive and continuous pain, which starts from the forehead and can extend to the nape of the neck, is a very common problem. Sometimes stress is the main cause, but there are also other factors that you need to take into account.
How to solve this problem? How to relieve tension headache before it becomes chronic?
Tension headache: the importance of knowing its origin
Doctors say that if you have tension headache between 7 and 10 days a month, it can be considered episodic.
However, if you already suffer from it for two weeks in a row, you run the risk of it becoming chronic headache.
It is normal, for example, to arrive home and feel a certain tiredness, especially mental fatigue that causes pain in the head.
Like a belt that surrounds our nape and forehead. Like an oppressive crown. We can easily distinguish it from migraines because it is not concentrated in just one part of the head.
Causes of tension headache
But what is it due to? What are the usual factors that trigger tension headaches? We list them below so that you can get to know them:
Muscle tension
It can be born in the same position for a long time, in tension, as well as in monotonous body postures for several hours. An example? Working on the computer or with a machine in the factory that forces us to do repetitive movements.
Pay attention to the view!
Staring at a computer screen for some time or studying for many hours can cause visual fatigue which almost always results in the classic tension headache.
The stress
Do not doubt. Daily life, worries, anxiety and all thoughts, sometimes negative, have particularly harsh side effects from a physical point of view. Warning! If you can manage daily stress better, you will enjoy a better quality of life and avoid common problems such as tension headache.
Bad eating habits
Do you usually leave the house in the morning and just have a coffee or skip dinner to lose weight? Know that these habits, in addition to being harmful to health, since we have less nutrients and feel weak by skipping meals, often cause headaches of this type.
Hypertension
Hypertension is a direct cause of tension headache. Headache, nausea, malaise … these are direct symptoms that indicate that the heart is pumping blood harder against the artery walls.
Remedies for tension headache
1. Hot-cold treatment
Heat and cold are effective treatments for severe headaches. How to do? If by chance you come home tonight with a tension headache, all you have to do is prepare a cold patch soaked in apple cider vinegar.
Apple cider vinegar has a relaxing effect. Soak a piece of apple cider vinegar and leave it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to cool.
Then place it on the forehead for 15 minutes and after this time take a hot shower for a few minutes, without exaggerating, so that the jet of hot water acts on the nape of the neck.
Once you have finished the shower, reposition the cold patch on your forehead for 15-20 minutes, but this time soaked either in lavender water or with a cold rosemary herbal tea. Easy and effective!
2. Ginger tea against tension headache
Very often we have listed the countless properties and benefits that ginger has on our health. One of its best known properties is that of a natural analgesic with no contraindications. It’s wonderful!
Its anti-inflammatory power is really effective in eliminating tension headache. To get all the benefits, grate a small piece of ginger (a spoon) and add it to a glass of hot water. Let it rest and drink the herbal tea little by little.
3. Mint eye mask
We know it may seem strange to you, but this mask is really effective. Here’s how to prepare it:
- Make an herbal tea with 10 mint leaves, to put in half a glass of water. Once ready, let it cool in the refrigerator.
- Soak a patch with the freshly obtained infusion.
- Lie down and apply the patch over your eyes. Remain like this for at least 20 minutes.
- Keep your eyes closed and relax. This will help you not only for the sensation of freshness released by mint and for the relaxation it offers to the eyes, but also because the smell of mint has soothing effects on our body.
- When you realize that the piece is hot, immerse it in the fresh mixture.
- You can also use mint oil.
4. A tablespoon of olive oil and lemon juice against tension headache
This simple remedy is really well known. It is known that olive oil helps to relieve inflammation, hydrates and promotes circulation. Mixed with lemon juice, it turns into a natural medicine that is really indicated in the treatment of tension headache.
You can, for example, take a tablespoon of olive oil with 3 drops of lemon and then relax on the sofa with the cloth soaked in the mint tea we mentioned earlier.