Home Remedies for Headaches

Headaches happen for a variety of reasons. Tracking factors, such as where you are, what you’ve consumed, amount of sleep you’ve had, noise level of your environment, time spent on electronics, and your menstrual cycle (women) can help you and your neurologist determine the cause of your headaches work towards building a treatment plan.

Causes of Headaches

Headaches happen for a variety of reasons. Common causes of headaches include, but are not limited to:

• Stress
• Hunger
• Fatigue
• Panic attacks
• Influenza
• Dehydration
• Poor posture
• Middle ear infection
• High blood pressure

The severity of headaches varies from person to person as do the causes of the headaches.

Remedies for Headaches

Tracking factors, such as where you are, what you’ve consumed, amount of sleep you’ve had, noise level of your environment, time spent on electronics, and your menstrual cycle (women) can help you and your neurologist determine the cause of your headaches. By determining the cause of your headaches, you can work towards building a treatment plan.

In most cases, minor headaches can be treated with simple at-home remedies including:

• Drinking more water
• Cold compresses
• Massaging pressure points
• Taking a nap or getting more sleep at night
• Dimming bright lights
• Eating a healthy snack or nutritious meal
• Exercise
• Turning down loud noises like music or the tv
• Going to a quiet place
• Taking time away from devices like computers and smartphones

If you are experiencing long-term, severely painful, or frequent headaches, it is important to reach out to a neurologist because the headaches could be a symptom of an underlying health condition.

Sources: Dr. Zara Fatima, selecthealth.org, americanmigranefoundation.org