tension headache relief

Live Better: A Tension Headache Relief Routine

You wake up in the morning, and your first thought is ‘uhh… my head hurts.’ So you swallow a couple of headache tablets with your morning coffee and sluggishly make your way to work. You sit at your desk and wonder, ‘has my computer screen always been this bright? It’s searing my eyes.’ It feels like a vice is tightening on your temples, and you wonder if those tablets are ever going to kick in. You open your calendar and realise you have to scroll down… down… down to see everything that’s been scheduled for the day. How did so many emails appear in your inbox overnight? You close your eyes and notice an almost unbearable tension in your neck and shoulders. And that unforgiving pressure at your temples has spread across your forehead to the back of your eyes.  You’ve got a tension headache. And you’ve got a full day of work ahead of you.

Also known as stress headaches, tension headaches are the most common type of headache, affecting 3% of adults. There are two types of tension headaches: episodic and chronic. Episodic tension headaches occur once or twice a month and can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a week. Chronic tension headaches occur more than 15 days a month and last from a few hours to being constant. Episodic tension headaches can become chronic.

Tension headaches are caused by muscle contractions in your neck and head. These contractions are a physical response to stress, anxiety, and depression. Other causes of tension headaches include not getting enough sleep, sleeping in a position that doesn’t support your neck, poor posture, clenching your jaw or grinding your teeth, drinking too much caffeine or alcohol, smoking, and dehydration.

Symptoms of a tension headache are pressure or tightness around the front and back of your head, a tender scalp, neck, or shoulders, a tight or sore neck, shoulders or jaw muscles. You may also have difficulty sleeping, trouble focusing, or feel constantly fatigued. 

We’ve developed a tension headache relief routine that will take the ‘uhh…’ out of your days and the sleeplessness out of your nights. Our exercises target every possible area where you might feel pain, from your head to your shoulders. You don’t need any equipment, and you can do our routine anywhere. Check out our YouTube video below or scroll down to get step-by-step instructions on how to perform our tension headache relief routine.

While you’re performing our tension headache relief routine, it’s important that you’re mindful of your personal pain scale. This is your body’s individual gauge that measures the intensity at which you exercise from 1 to 10. One would be like touching your finger to your forehead. You’d feel a little pressure, but that’s it. You’ve gone above a ten if your breathing becomes irregular or you feel yourself tense up. For each exercise, aim for an intensity of between 8 and 9. If you find that you are experiencing pain that’s higher than 9, reduce the intensity and continue.