Recurring headaches can occur for all kinds of reasons. If you’re sick of constantly getting headaches, you may want to look into some of these possible causes.

Stress

When you get a headache, does it feel like a rubber band is being squeezed around your head? This is a tension headache and the most common cause for this is stress. It’s not always possible to avoid stress in our lives, but it is possible to relieve stress through activities like exercise, listening to music, taking a hot bath or meditating. 

Dehydration

If you’ve ever had a hangover, then you’ll have likely experienced a dehydration headache before. Not drinking enough water can cause headaches because your brain isn’t getting enough fluids. Alternatively, drinking too much alcohol or coffee could make you urinate frequently and in turn cause a dehydration headache at a later stage. Make sure you’re drinking enough water throughout the day – and drink more water if you’ve been consuming alcohol or coffee.

Poor posture

Poor posture can cause pain in the upper back, shoulders and neck. This pain can then move to the base of the skull with shooting pains going into the forehead. Correcting your posture by sitting or standing straight could reduce these headaches. Years of poor posture may result in chronic pain and you may want to get treatment to reverse such as seeing a chiropractor. Lifestyle changes such as switching to a firmer mattress could also help.

Eye strain

Is the pain behind your eyes and do your eyes hurt? The headaches you could be getting could be the result of eye strain. Looking at a bright screen for long periods is the most common cause of eye strain – if you work at a computer, it could be worth looking into ways of reducing exposure to blue light. Not wearing the right glasses prescription could also cause eye strain – if you’ve noticed that your vision is a little blurry as well as getting headaches, consider whether you should take an eye test.

Change of weather

Do you suffer from seemingly random intense migraine-like headaches? There are lots of things that can trigger a migraine. One common trigger is changes in weather. Pressure changes which can come from changes in temperature or humidity may be the cause. These migraines are often out of our control but you can prevent them being as potent by using painkillers, drinking lots of water and staying indoors during changes in barometric pressure (there are migraine forecast sites and apps that can help you keep an eye on weather changes). 

Change of routine

A change in routine can cause some people to develop a headache. The ‘weekend migraine’ can be caused by changes in routine at the weekend such as lying in or even not drinking coffee at a specific time in the morning. If you get headaches on a Saturday after lying in, this could be the cause.

Overusing painkillers

When battling those headaches, be careful of consuming too many painkillers. Taking too many painkillers could ironically be causing you more headaches. 

Something else?

There are many other things that can trigger frequent headaches from certain foods to habits like smoking. If pain is rapid and severe or accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, confusion or loss of balance, then you may want to see a doctor. Headaches that start occurring after an accident are also something you should see a doctor about. Other types of headache can be frustrating but are generally harmless (although there’s nothing wrong with still seeing a doctor just to be careful).