Around the holidays we all start feeling a little stressed.  We have family coming in, cooking to do, preparations to be made and shopping to be done.  No wonder why we get headaches around this time of the year.  Life is stressful enough.  Many factors cause headaches such as tension, sinus congestion, caffeine withdrawal, lack of sleep and food allergies. The most common headache cause is tension. 

Yes……….tension.  So, you are more likely to get a headache if you feel tension during the holidays.

If you are prone to headaches, or if you just get headaches around the holiday season, try some of our home remedies for holiday headaches to help even the worst headache.

Headache Remedies

• Apply a hot water bottle, hot towel or heating pad to the neck and shoulders to relax tight muscles.

• Ice pack applied to the neck and upper back for tension headaches can help alleviate a lot of the pain associated by headaches caused by stress and tension.

• Make a cold herbal compress by wetting a cloth in very cold water.  Add two drops of peppermint oil to the cloth and apply it to the painful area for approximately ten minutes.

• To relieve headache pressure and pain caused by sinus congestion have someone gently massage your shoulders and the back of your neck. This treatment often unblocks congestion in the sinuses.

• Massage combined drops of peppermint oil and wintergreen oil into the temples and nape of the neck to relieve tension. Massage sinus region of the face to relieve sinus headaches. Keep it away from the eyes.

• Herbs such as lavender, gingko biloba and feverfew may relieve headache pain. Feverfew should not be taken when pregnant. Discuss appropriate herbal treatments with your naturopathy professional.