Last updated: October 2026
To get rid of a tension headache fast, take paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin as the pack directs (no aspirin for under-16s), drink water and eat something, then rest your eyes, loosen your neck and shoulders with massage, stretches or a warm or cold pack, and breathe slowly. Don’t rely on painkillers most days: that can cause rebound headaches.
A tension headache feels like pressure or a tight band on both sides of your head, sometimes spreading to your face or neck. Stress, poor sleep and caffeine are common causes. They aren’t a sign of anything serious, but see a GP if you get them several times a week or they’re severe.
Below: a step-by-step plan for right now, what works fastest, causes, prevention, tension headache vs migraine vs cluster headache, and when to get urgent help.
How to get rid of a tension headache
Most tension headaches ease with simple steps. Work through these in order, right now:
- Take a painkiller, following the pack. Paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin are all suitable for most adults. If you’re not sure which suits you, or you’re pregnant or take other medicines, ask a pharmacist.
- Drink a glass of water and have something to eat if you’ve skipped a meal. See how much water you need a day.
- Step away from screens for 10 minutes and get some fresh air. If your eyes feel gritty, see dry eyes.
- Use heat or cold on a stiff neck: a warm wheat bag or a cold pack wrapped in a tea towel.
- Massage your neck, shoulders and temples with slow, firm circles on any tender spots.
- Gentle stretches: slowly tilt your ear towards each shoulder, then roll your shoulders back. Our stiff neck guide has a 5-minute routine.
- Breathe slowly and drop your shoulders. Try box breathing or a short muscle relaxation routine.
- Unclench your jaw. Let your teeth part and your tongue rest. Clenching at night? See teeth grinding.
One thing not to do: sleep it off for hours. The NHS says sleeping more than you usually would can make a headache worse (more in our guide to oversleeping).
Many people make a slow neck and shoulder massage part of their wind-down. Our CBD Balm, Muscle and Joint Support is made for massage, with peppermint, eucalyptus and juniper for a cooling feel. See how to use CBD balm.
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What works fastest?
Painkillers are the only option here that has been timed in trials, and those trials measure relief at two hours. The rest are low-risk, NHS-backed steps you can do at the same time.
| What to try | How fast it may help | Evidence and NHS notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paracetamol (1,000mg, usually two 500mg tablets, if the pack allows) | Trials measure at 2 hours | A Cochrane review found a small benefit at two hours for 1,000mg, and no clear difference from a dummy pill at one hour. 500 to 650mg did no better than placebo. |
| Ibuprofen | Trials measure at 2 hours | A 2024 review of trials ranked ibuprofen 400mg among the most effective simple painkillers for being pain free at two hours. The NHS says ibuprofen isn’t recommended in pregnancy. |
| Aspirin | Trials measure at 2 hours | NICE lists aspirin, paracetamol or an anti-inflammatory as the options for tension headaches. Never give aspirin to under-16s. |
| Water and food | Not well studied | The NHS says drink plenty of water and don’t skip meals. Not drinking enough and missing meals are both common headache causes. |
| Heat or cold pack, low firm pillow | Not well studied | The NHS suggests these if you have neck pain with your headaches. |
| Massage, yoga, exercise, relaxation | Not well studied for a single headache | The NHS lists these as ways to ease a tension headache yourself. |
| Screen break | Not well studied | The NHS advises not straining your eyes for a long time, for example at a screen. |
| Codeine-based painkillers | Not advised | NICE says opioids such as codeine shouldn’t be offered for tension headaches, and they can cause rebound headaches at fewer days a month than simple painkillers. |
Tension headache symptoms
- Pain on both sides of your head, face or neck
- A feeling of pressure, or a tight band around your head
- Tender scalp, neck or shoulders: your head may hurt more when touched
- You can usually carry on with daily activities without making it worse
- Lasts at least 30 minutes, sometimes several days
Doctors call tension headaches on 15 or more days a month, for more than 3 months, “chronic” tension-type headache. Fewer than that is “episodic”. If yours are heading that way, it’s worth a GP visit. Tight, tender spots across the shoulders often come with them: see muscle knots and upper back pain.
What causes tension headaches?
The NHS names stress, sleep problems and caffeine as the common causes, plus taking painkillers too often. Its wider headache advice adds bad posture, eyesight problems, missed meals and not drinking enough. Researchers think frequent tension headaches may involve the nervous system becoming more sensitive to pain signals from tight head and neck muscles.
| Trigger | Read more |
|---|---|
| Stress, including at work | Stress symptoms and stress at work |
| Poor sleep or too little of it | Sleep deprivation and how to sleep better |
| Caffeine, or cutting it suddenly | Caffeine withdrawal and how long caffeine lasts |
| Tight neck and shoulders, often from desk work | Posture and desk set-up and shoulder pain |
| Screen time and eye strain | Blue light glasses |
| Jaw clenching | Jaw pain and TMD |
| Skipping meals and not drinking enough | How much water to drink |
| Taking painkillers too often | See below |
If you wake with the headache already there, the cause is often different (sleep, alcohol, teeth grinding or snoring): see waking up with a headache.
Painkillers and rebound headaches
Taking painkillers too often or for a long time can cause “medication overuse” or rebound headaches. NICE tells doctors to look out for it when headaches started or got worse while someone was taking, for 3 months or more:
- paracetamol, aspirin or an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen (alone or combined) on 15 or more days a month, or
- opioids such as codeine, combination painkillers, or triptans on 10 or more days a month.
A simple rule: if you’re reaching for painkillers on more than a few days a week, or most weeks, talk to a GP or pharmacist about a plan. NICE says rebound headaches are treated by stopping the overused painkillers for at least a month, and headaches often get worse for a while before they improve, so do this with your GP’s support. Keeping a headache diary (how often, how bad, what you took) helps.
How to prevent tension headaches
- Manage stress with regular exercise, yoga or relaxation. See how to relieve stress.
- Improve your sleep. See insomnia, and the best sleeping position for neck pain.
- Cut down on caffeine gradually: tea, coffee and cola. See how caffeine affects you.
- Check your posture and set your screen at eye level. Take a break every hour.
- Use a low, firm pillow if your neck is stiff in the morning.
- Eat regularly and drink water through the day.
- Keep a headache diary to spot triggers.
- Ask about acupuncture if your headaches are chronic. NICE suggests considering up to 10 sessions over 5 to 8 weeks for chronic tension-type headache.
What about magnesium?
To be straight with you: the research on magnesium and headaches is mostly about migraine, not tension headaches, and NICE’s headache guideline doesn’t recommend magnesium for either. The supplement NICE does mention is riboflavin, for some people with migraine. See magnesium for migraines.
Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function and to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex is an evening drink many people use as part of a wind-down routine. It isn’t a headache treatment. For more, see magnesium and muscles.
Tension headache vs migraine vs cluster headache
| Tension headache | Migraine | Cluster headache | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | Both sides, like a tight band | Often one side | One side, around the eye |
| Feels like | Pressure or ache | Throbbing, worse when you move | Sharp, burning or piercing; you may feel restless |
| How long | 30 minutes to several days | Usually 4 hours to 3 days | 15 minutes to 3 hours, often several times a day for weeks or months |
| Other symptoms | Usually none | Feeling sick, sensitive to light and sound, sometimes aura | Red, watering eye, drooping eyelid, blocked or runny nose on the same side |
| Daily life | Can usually carry on | Often need to lie down | Very severe; can come at set times of day |
| Painkillers | Usually help | Can help; a GP can prescribe other medicines | Paracetamol and ibuprofen don’t work: see a GP |
Cluster headaches are rare. Specialists treat attacks with triptan injections or nasal sprays, or oxygen through a mask. If the ache sits behind your eyes, see headache behind the eyes. For migraine, see magnesium for migraines and what the research says on CBD and migraines.
When to see a GP or get urgent help
iSee a GP if headaches happen several times a week, are severe, don’t improve with painkillers and relaxation, throb on one side or at the front, or come with feeling sick or finding light or noise painful.
Get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 for a severe headache with jaw pain when eating, blurred or double vision, or a sore scalp; or a headache that’s made worse by coughing, sneezing or bending down. For a child under 12, also call 111 for a headache that wakes them at night, is there when they wake up, keeps getting worse, or comes with vomiting.
Call 999 or go to A&E for a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful (sometimes called a thunderclap headache), or a headache:
- after a head injury
- with a very high temperature, a stiff neck, a rash that doesn’t fade under a glass, or bright lights bothering you
- with numbness or weakness in the body or face
- with problems speaking, remembering, balancing or walking
- with drowsiness or confusion, a seizure, or loss of vision
Don’t drive yourself to A&E. If you’ve been diagnosed with cluster headaches, the NHS also says call 999 if one eyelid droops or one pupil is smaller than the other for the first time.
Related guides
- Worried your headaches mean something serious? See health anxiety.
- Eye twitching with a headache: what it means and when to see a GP.
- Aching all over as well? See body aches.
- Short on sleep this week? See what sleep deprivation does to your body.
- Morning headaches with loud snoring can point to obstructive sleep apnoea, which is worth raising with a GP.
- Migraine: symptoms, triggers and how to get rid of one fast.
- Frequent headaches with tiredness and breathlessness? See can iron deficiency cause headaches?
Sources 9
- NHS. Tension headaches.
- NHS. Headaches.
- NHS. Cluster headaches.
- NHS. Migraine.
- NICE (2012, updated 2025). Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management (CG150).
- Stephens G et al. (2016). Paracetamol (acetaminophen) for acute treatment of episodic tension-type headache in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
- Xie R et al. (2024). Efficacy and safety of simple analgesics for acute treatment of episodic tension-type headache in adults: a network meta-analysis. Annals of Medicine.
- Bendtsen L (2000). Central sensitization in tension-type headache: possible pathophysiological mechanisms. Cephalalgia.
- NHS. Stress.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Evopure makes the CBD Balm and Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex.
