Headaches come in many forms. Where you feel the pain, what other symptoms you have, and how long headaches last can vary. For many people, headaches are an occasional nuisance. For others, they can be chronic and disabling.
Some headaches can be prevented with small lifestyle changes. Drinking enough water, avoiding headache triggers, managing stress, or improving sleep can sometimes be enough. Other headaches may require more intensive interventions.
NIH researchers are working to develop more options for people who aren’t helped by current treatments.
Types of Headaches
There are many types of headaches. Understanding the type you’re having can help you find the right treatment.
The most common is called a tension-type headache. These are often triggered by stress, which causes muscles in the neck, face, scalp, and jaw to tighten. Lack of sleep, dehydration, and poor posture can also lead to a tension-type headache.
The pain from a tensiontype headache is usually mild to moderate and can be felt on both sides of the head. Some people have chronic tensiontype headaches. These happen frequently and can last for hours to days, or even constantly.
“We define chronic headache as having more than 15 headache days per month. So, more days with headache than not,” says Dr. Michael Oshinsky, a pain expert at NIH.
Other common headaches are those caused by migraine. Migraine isn’t just a headache. It’s a complex brain condition. Migraine headaches often occur on one side of the head. But they can also be on both sides. Migraine attacks can include nausea, vomiting, mood changes, extreme tiredness, and sensitivity to light,
noise, and smells. Attacks can last for hours to days.
“Migraine is a disorder where the ‘volume knob’ of the nervous system has been turned up,” explains Dr. K.C. Brennan, a migraine researcher at the University of Utah. “In people with chronic migraine, it stays turned up.”
There are many other types of headaches. One that causes extremely painful, sudden attacks is the cluster headache. These attacks can happen around the same time each day or every other day for several weeks.
Some people, such as combat veterans, live with post-traumatic headaches. These are headaches that linger after a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. They can last long after the injury is healed. Other, rarer types of headaches can be caused by nerve problems in the head area.
Headaches can also be caused by other health conditions. Brain injury, stroke, seizures, infections, high blood pressure, and other conditions can all lead to headaches. These are called secondary headaches.
If you have headaches that disrupt your daily life, talk with your doctor. They can help you find relief or refer you to a specialist.
Some headaches may indicate a dangerous medical problem that needs immediate medical attention. See the Wise Choices box for signs to look for.
Trying Treatments
You can help take control of your headaches by keeping a headache diary. Track your symptoms, how often they happen, and what alleviates them.
“For at least a month, just note down when you have a headache, how you treated it, how long it lasted,” Oshinsky says. You can also include facts like foods or drinks consumed, sleep patterns, stress
