Tension Headache

This type of headache feels like a dull ache on both sides of the head (like a tightening band) and causes mild to moderate discomfort, which means you can usually keep up your normal activities.

How Long It Lasts and Frequency: From 30 minutes to several days. Chronic tension headaches occur often (15 or more days a month) for more than three months.

Who Gets Them: Almost everyone. They are the most common type of headache. Up to 78 percent of adults have them at some point in their lives. But women are more likely than men to suffer from them chronically.

Usually Triggered By: Not having your morning cup when you’re used to it or too much caffeine. Brain strain (that is, the mental or emotional stress of a tough day) or muscle tension in the head, the neck, and the shoulders.

Other Triggers: Hunger, lack of sleep, and changes in sleep patterns, like dozing late on the weekends.

How to Treat without Medication:

Get enough rest, but keep the same bedtime and waking hours all week long — not just on weekdays.

Ice sore muscles in your neck and shoulders (to help reduce inflammation), or treat yourself to a massage. Even a few minutes of self-kneading can help reduce tension.

If you’ve skipped a meal, eat something. Choose a food with naturally occurring sugar that is digested quickly (like fruit) and something with a bit of protein (cheese or nuts), to steady blood-sugar levels.

How to Treat with Medication:

Most tension headaches respond to the recommended dose of an over-the-counter drug, such as ibuprofen (Advil), acetaminophen (Tylenol), or naproxen sodium (Aleve).

Extra Strength Excedrin, which is a combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine, works for some people (the caffeine helps increase the absorption of the acetaminophen and the aspirin). However, because too much caffeine over time can cause nausea and make headaches even worse, you should not take this product more than a few times a week.

Doctors sometimes offer chronic sufferers a low dose of antidepressants as preventive medicine. These are thought to alter brain chemicals that affect pain perception, says Mannix.