Maximize Headache Relief From Home With Drug-free, Natural Treatments

Although medication is an important part of any migraine or headache rescue kit, there are a number of things you can do to relieve headache pain at home. When it comes to self-care, there is no shortage of natural remedies and at-home antidotes. Here’s our guide to the top home remedies to treat and prevent headaches. These strategies to avoid and relieve pain work for both tension headaches and migraine attacks.

Home Remedies to Prevent Frequent Headaches

There are a number of strategies you can employ throughout your day that have been shown to lower migraine frequency and severity. Consistency ranks high when it comes to really benefiting from these prevention remedies.

SEEDS: A Handy Acronym

An important combination of items to focus on to achieve homeostasis are sleep, eating, exercise, drinks, and stress. It’s easy to remember these five golden elements of your daily routine with the acronym SEEDS.

• Sleep
• Eating
• Exercise
• Drinks
• Stress

The migraine brain loves routine — skipping meals, becoming dehydrated, and losing sleep can possibly lead to migraine-related pain. "[Migraine] triggers tend to be changes, such as environmental changes, hormonal changes, changes in adrenaline levels, changes in your level of energy or food intake," said Andrew Charles, MD, professor of neurology and director of the Goldberg Migraine Program at UCLA. "The broad concept for patients is to try and be as consistent as possible."

Diet: Regular Meals, Omega-3s, and Migraine-Friendly Bites

Food truly is medicine, and what you eat — and don’t eat — can play into headache frequency. Eating at regular intervals and avoiding skipping meals is crucial to keeping migraines at bay. Additionally, pay attention to your diet and eliminate highly inflammatory foods like refined carbohydrates, fried foods, and sugary beverages and treats whenever you can.

A 2021 study found that those with frequent migraines who began consuming more omega-3 fatty acids experienced a reduction in the severity and frequency of migraine days. Additionally, those who also reduced their intake of omega-6 fatty acids saw even more advantages. This is due to omega-3’s role in lowering inflammation. Benefits can be derived from foods rich in this oil such as salmon, flax, chia, walnuts, and eggs. Keep in mind, when it comes to migraine, minimizing stress is crucial, so don’t overhaul your entire diet immediately but start by incorporating more migraine-friendly foods.

Caffeine: Consistency and Moderation Are Best

Caffeine can be a double-edged sword for people experiencing frequent headaches. Too much caffeine and caffeine withdrawal can both trigger headaches or migraine attacks. The biggest thing to keep in mind is consistency — try to consume the same amount of caffeine at the same time every day, while being aware of just how much caffeine is hidden in daily snacks.

A 2019 study suggested that high levels of caffeine intake could potentially trigger migraines. If you want to use caffeine as a "medication" of sorts for when symptoms start coming on, it’s important that you limit your intake to only a few servings per week, or a withdrawal headache could be in store.

Keep Loose With Stretches

Migraine attacks and tension headaches have a host of triggers, and keeping as many of those at bay as possible is helpful when it comes to prevention. Tension in the neck and shoulder muscles is something that can creep up on you, especially if you sit at a desk for many hours of the day or have a repetitive motion job. Take small breaks when you can for some targeted movement; these bite-size stretch snacks can make a big difference in reducing headache pain.

Get Moving Outside

The simple movement of just walking has been shown to be a winner when it comes to reversing the effects of anxiety. Getting your blood flowing, your breath deepening, and taking movement especially in fresh air is critical for well-being, and thus can work as migraine preventive care.

For some, exercise can be a migraine trigger in itself. "A migraine attack can be brought on or exacerbated by exercise, particularly in people with chronic migraine. Some with episodic migraine will also report that strenuous exercise is a trigger for a migraine attack, " said Dr. Charles. The key is to start slow. "For those who have migraine exacerbated or triggered by exercise, keep in mind that exercise is good, in general, for reducing migraine frequency and severity over time."

Find Your Om With Yoga, Meditation, and Tai Chi

Anxiety and stress can play a role in headaches, so at-home practices that help reduce those players are crucial. It’s exciting that evidence-based research is now on our side too: A study showed that those who practiced gentle yoga five times a week for two months significantly reduced their migraine days, even lowering their medication intake by 47%.

"Relaxation methods are an effective preventive strategy, particularly for people who have stress-related migraines," Richard Lipton, MD, director of the Montefiore Headache Center in New York, told Migraine Again. "I do yoga myself a few times a week and love it, and the stress reduction benefits of yoga or cognitive-behavioral therapy or biofeedback may not only help prevent migraine but help promote successful brain aging, as well."

Yoga for migraine is an exciting option, as well as meditation and mindfulness practices, which can be accessed on free apps like Insight Timer or UCLA Mindful, and the relaxing art of Tai Chi.

Supplements to Work Into Your Regime

For some dealing with lifelong migraine disease, the incorporation of a handful of key herbal supplements — many recommended by medical doctors — have made a critical difference in headache reduction. The top six supplements for those with migraine are butterbur, vitamin B2, magnesium, melatonin, CoQ10, and feverfew. In addition, the inexpensive root ginger can help with migraine prevention due to its benefits for reducing inflammation and can be tried in many forms from essential oils to drinks to candies.

Lower Inflammation

Although more research is needed, there is a clear link between higher levels of inflammation in those with migraine versus those without the disease. Chronic inflammation signals the body to continue ramping up its immune system for healing when there’s not an urgent need for it to — this can actually lead to autoimmune conditions and play a role in chronic migraine and chronic headaches.

Although higher levels of inflammation for those with migraine might sound startling, there are a number of things you can do at home to lower your inflammatory levels. That’s why a number of items on our at-home prevention list work to balance your well-being, which in turn will lower the inflammation in your body, which can prevent headaches.

Acupuncture for Migraine Prevention

Various studies over the past decade have shed a favorable light on the benefits of acupuncture for those with acute migraine, showing that regular treatment was even on par with taking certain medications. Some insurance plans will cover treatment, and the ancient medicinal art has also been proved to reduce anxiety, so it works as a nice form of all-around self-care.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Benefits

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a hands-on, noninvasive approach to helping individuals repattern and reprogram their thinking around difficulties. A trained therapist helps the patient reduce attack frequency without the side effects of medication.

"For yoga, cognitive behavioral therapy, and biofeedback, for all relaxation and stress management modalities, it's thumbs-up," said Dr. Lipton, "particularly for people who note that stress is a trigger factor."

TMJ Jaw Pain Could Play a Role

Our bodies are so interrelated that it can be challenging to decipher where the pain is coming from sometimes. TMJ could be one source of tension that can lead to increased migraines, and treating it can be helpful.

Get Rid of Headaches Naturally With At-Home Treatment

When it comes to at-home treatment for your headaches, we rounded up our favorites that are natural and low cost, if not free, that can be employed quickly and easily when you begin to feel your first migraine symptoms.

Ice and Heat

Ice or a cold compress can be a lifesaver when it comes to acute treatment for a blistering headache. When looking for the best ice pack, ditch your old one for a type you can actually wear. Although ice has been shown to help more people with migraine during an attack, a combination of cold and hot can help too.

To try this suggested naturopathic therapy, put an ice pack on your neck and your feet in water as hot as you can stand. After 10 minutes, reverse it by putting a heat pack on your neck and your feet in ice water for 10 minutes. Hot and cold showers, alternating two minutes with each temperature, can also be helpful.

Relaxation Exercises and Deep Breathing

Meditation and mindfulness can help lower the number of attack days, but they can also be used during an attack to reduce anxiety and relieve pain. Relaxation techniques can be turned to during an at-home treatment plan as modes for pain reduction.

Essential Oil Therapy

Although scents and perfumes can be migraine triggers in themselves, naturally occurring fragrances derived from plant sources can work to ease pain and induce calm. Lavender, peppermint, ginger, and rosemary top our list as the best to have on hand, and they can be diffused or applied topically. 

Acupressure Self-Treatment

Acupressure points run along the body’s channels, according to traditional Chinese medicine, and their healing benefits can be accessed by acupuncture or by pressure from your own fingers. It’s low risk, can be employed wherever you are, and there are specific points linked to headache symptoms. Here’s our acupressure 101 and how to use this natural remedy for migraine treatment.

Massage Therapy

Self-massage can be employed during the early stages of an attack when you start to feel muscle tension increasing. Here are six ways to practice self-massage at home. Although more robust research has been done on the benefits of massage for sinus and tension headaches, massage can be worth checking out when it comes to reducing the frequency and severity of migraine attacks. It’s particularly good for managing stress, decreasing muscle tension, and helping some achieve a better night’s sleep — all of which are important for migraine care.

Final Thoughts

There are many strategies for prevention and treatment to help you get rid of headaches naturally — or, at the very least, reduce the impact that migraine symptoms like headache pain have on your day. If many of these natural options to get rid of a headache are new to you, start by choosing a few preventive tips you can weave into your daily life.

Bookmark some at-home treatment strategies to try so that they’re handy when you begin to feel symptoms of a migraine attack or whenever you need headache relief. As with medications, natural remedies can come with their share of trial and error and it’s about finding what works best for you.