Here's How You Can Relieve Your Headache

Here are the five things that you need to do (and not to do) to relieve your headache:

1. Take a hot shower

According to Dr. Mark W. Green from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, a relaxing hot shower could help you ease your headache. Standing beneath hot water reduces strain by loosening the muscles in the neck, head, and shoulder regions.

2. Drink coffee

Dr. Elizabeth Loder, chief of the headache and pain division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, noted that caffeine has a mild painkilling effect when consumed during the early stages of a headache.

"But it’s important to not overdo it because you can build up a tolerance for it," Loder said. "Keep your regular intake fairly low so that when you need it intermittently you can pull it out as a secret weapon,"

3. Loosen up your hair

High ponytails could be one of the reasons why you are having a headache. Wearing looser hairstyles could reduce the physical strain and tension of the nerves.

"When you put your hair in a tight bun or ponytail, or a weave or extensions, that will pull the nerves in the scalp," Dr. Denise E. Chou explained, assistant professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center.

4. Stop chewing gum

Studies revealed that people who chew gum are prone to headaches. One of the explanations is that the constant movement of the jaw strains the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). This is the region where the jaw meets the skull.

"Every doctor knows that overuse of the TMJ will cause headaches," said Dr. Nathan Watemberg of Tel Aviv University-affiliated Meir Medical Center in Israel.

5. Have an orgasm

A 2013 study from Germany suggested that sexual intercourse (or even masturbation) could provide relief from migraine pain.

"It increases the level of oxytocin, which is the pleasure hormone, and the endorphins in your brain, which are natural painkillers," Dr. Saralyn Mark explained, a woman's health specialist.