A recent study has confirmed what many people have suspected all along — that stress can lead to headaches. The study found that people who reported headaches had more stress compared to those who never reported headaches.
Researchers collected data on more than 5,000 people aged 21 to 71. Four times a year for two years, the participants were quizzed about their levels of stress and headaches.
Each time, they were asked to rate their stress level on a scale of zero to 100 and recount how many headaches they had a month. 31 percent of the participants had tension-type headaches, 14 percent had migraines, 11 percent had migraines combined with tension headaches and 17 percent had unclassified headaches.
People with tension headaches scored their stress level at an average of 52 of 100. For those with migraines, it was 62 of 100, and the stress level was 59 of 100 for those who suffered migraine and tension headaches. Rising stress was clearly connected to a rise in the number of monthly headaches.
For those with tension headaches, a 10-point increase on the stress scale was associated with a 6.3 percent increase in the number of headaches, the researchers found. Among those who suffered migraines, the number rose 4.3 percent for a 10-point increase in stress, and for those with both headache types, it rose 4 percent.
To be sure stress was the culprit, researchers ruled out other factors associated with headaches, including drinking, smoking and frequent use of medication to treat headaches.
The study confirms the widely held belief that chronic stress is a major trigger of all types of headaches in people young and old. This finding is important and suggests that identifying sources of chronic stress, and utilizing strategies directed toward elimination or modification of stress, including meditation, deep breathing exercises and muscle relaxation techniques, can be very effective in reducing the frequency of all types of headaches, particularly tension headaches.
A 2014 study revealed that chronic stress depletes levels of vitamin B6 in the body. But the study also showed a 20% reduction in work-related stress in those consuming higher levels of B vitamins. If you’re under stress, you should be taking a high-quality vitamin B supplement.
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