EFT Tapping for Headache Relief: What the Research Shows

You know that feeling when your head starts to feel like it is in a vice… and there is a band of pressure forming around your head? Headaches like this are no fun to experience, and unfortunately they can be quite common!

If you get headaches from time to time when you are stressed, you are most likely experiencing what doctors call a tension headache. Tension headaches occur when the muscles in the neck and scalp become tense, leading to pain in the head, face, or neck.[1,2]

Now, tension headaches are incredibly common; as many in 2 in 3 adults experience them![1] But even though more people than not get tension headaches, it doesn’t mean that you have to live with the pain. Living with headaches should not be, and does not have to be, the status quo!

And you have far more options for relief at your disposal than just drinking some water, taking an over-the-counter pain medication, and lying down to wait it out.

In fact, there are a lot of different tools that you can turn to to find relief, and alternative approaches are often some of the most effective!

If you haven’t yet tried EFT Tapping for headache relief, it’s time to add this simple, easy, and effective tool to your headache support toolkit. Research suggests it can do wonders for decreasing both the frequency and intensity of your headaches.

Study shows Tapping can help to decrease the frequency and intensity of tension headaches

Practices like acupuncture, psychological interventions, and manual therapy have all been proven to be effective for tension-type headaches.[3,4] With Tapping drawing from many of the theories and concepts of these practices, it isn’t surprising to learn that Tapping also offers incredible benefits to those who suffer from tension headaches.

And that’s exactly what a study published in the journal Explore confirmed; Tapping can help to decrease both the severity and frequency of tension headaches.[5]

In the study, the researchers looked at a group of 35 people who all suffered from tension headaches. Half were taught EFT Tapping and instructed to use the Tapping method twice a day for two months. The other half were in a control group, and they did not use Tapping. Stress levels and headache episodes were monitored throughout the study.[5]

After two months, the data showed that the people in the EFT Tapping group reported less frequent AND less intense headache episodes. On top of that, they also reported lower stress levels. The control group did not show those same improvements.[5]

The findings from this study suggest that Tapping can be an extremely effective tool for managing tension headaches.

So why is Tapping so helpful for headaches? Because it helps us to release stress, and stress is one of the top triggers for tension headaches.

The link between tension headaches and stress

Stress is strongly linked to tension headaches. In fact, stress is listed as one the of the top causes of this kind of headache.[1,2] Studies show that daily stress is related to both the development of headaches and to increases in headache pain intensity.[6]

Ultimately, tension headaches can be one of the many physical health effects of living under constant stress. They are one of the body’s ways of telling you that the stress in your life is taking a real toll.

So, one of the best ways to better manage tension headaches and get relief from the pain is to release some of that stress that is wearing you and your body down.

And that is exactly what Tapping does best. EFT Tapping helps to send calming signals to the brain, giving it a chance to turn down the physiological stress response. Research shows that it does a really great job at that, and that it can actually help to reduce the effects of stress in the body. In fact, Tapping has been shown to decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 43%![7]

In the study mentioned earlier, the researchers found that a daily EFT Tapping practice helped the tension headache sufferers to reduce their stress levels. And after just two months of practice, their headache episodes occurred less often and were also less intense.[5] That reduction in stress is likely a large part of why the participants in this study were able to notice such positive changes in headache frequency and intensity after using the power of Tapping.

How to use Tapping for headache relief

Tapping is a simple process that combines the principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. It is easy to learn, and adaptable to whatever you might be dealing with in your own life, including tension headaches and more.

In a basic Tapping sequence you’ll tap on specific points on the body that correspond to the body’s meridians, while speaking or thinking about what is bothering you (like your stress or your headaches). This process sends calming signals to the pain, allowing the stress to be released from your body.

If you are new to Tapping, a great resource to turn to is The Tapping Solution App. There you’ll gain access to a huge library of guided Tapping meditations that will walk you step-by-step through the process and provide support for a wide range of topic areas.

Suggested Tapping Meditations for Headache Relief

To release general stress from your day, you might try some of our Tapping meditations like:

• Nervous Tension & Stress Release
• Turn Your Day Around: Morning Stress Reliever
• I’m Stressed About Work
• Releasing Evening Stress

We also have some Tapping meditations created specifically for people with headaches, including:

• Release a Headache
• Support Your Body: Headache Relief
• Support Your Healing: Headaches
• Persistent Headache Support: Extended Session

I’ve seen so many people find significant relief from physical ailments like headaches after learning about the power of Tapping and putting it into practice in their own lives. And I can’t wait to hear about your experiences with Tapping for headache relief!

Wishing you healing and ease today and everyday.

If you want to go deeper than a single session, our Tapping Solution for Pain Relief program is a full system built around exactly this.

Until next time, this is Nick Ortner.

Keep Tapping!

Tension-type headache vs. migraine: what tapping can help with

A tension headache usually feels like a dull, steady band of pressure around the head, often tied to stress, poor sleep, or muscle tension in the neck and shoulders. A migraine is a distinct neurological condition, often one-sided, throbbing, and accompanied by nausea, light sensitivity, or visual changes, and it needs its own diagnosis and treatment plan from a doctor.

Tapping is not a treatment for migraine. What it can help with, alongside whatever care your doctor has you on, is the stress that's a known trigger for many people's migraines, and the fear and dread of the next attack, which is its own source of stress and can make the whole cycle harder. For a tension headache, the research above suggests tapping can help more directly, since stress and muscle tension are the headache's main drivers.

A 3-minute headache round

Rate the tightness or pressure from 0 to 10 right now. Then tap through the points below, staying with the physical sensation, that tightness behind your eyes, the band of pressure, whatever is actually there.

1. Setup (repeat three times, tapping the side of your hand): "Even though I have this tightness behind my eyes, and I'm tired of dealing with it, I accept myself and where I am right now."
2. Eyebrow: "This tightness, right here."
3. Side of Eye: "This band of pressure."
4. Under Eye: "This tightness behind my eyes."
5. Under Nose: "All this tension in my head and neck."
6. Chin: "I'm so tired of this pain."
7. Collarbone: "I'm allowed to be frustrated about it."
8. Under Arm: "And I'm also allowing my head and neck to soften, even a little."
9. Top of Head: "I welcome some relief, right now."

Reassess your number. If it moved, that's your nervous system responding. Do another round on whatever's still there, whether it's the tightness itself or the stress underneath it.

Tapping phrases for headaches, by moment

Different moments with a headache call for different words. Here's a quick-reference table for five common ones; for the full phrase library, see our complete guide to EFT tapping phrases.

What our data shows

Our Pain Relief category in The Tapping Solution App has 30 sessions completed 957,816 times, with self-rated discomfort dropping from an average of 6.3 to 4.0, a 36% drop. Our Release a Headache session specifically has been completed 64,741 times, with the average rating going from 6.5 to 4.0.

In a peer-reviewed study of 270,461 App users published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (Church & Stapleton, 2020), a single guided session reduced self-rated stress by 45% on average, the same nervous-system calming behind both this app data and the tension-headache study above.

This is self-report data, not a controlled trial on headaches specifically; the controlled trial evidence for headaches is the Bougea et al. study covered above.

What people say

Shirley, on tapping for physical tension — rated herself a 9 before, a 2 after

App user, on tapping for anxiety and stress — rated herself a 6 before, a 4 after

Neither of these quotes is from our headache-specific session; we don't have a headache-labeled app-feedback quote in our library yet. They're included because they speak to the same stress-and-tension relief this page is about.

Tap along with me

Want to follow along out loud? This short tapping session works through the same kind of stress and tension that sits behind a tension headache.

Go deeper

• Jodi's story, on using Tapping alongside migraines.
• EFT Tapping for pain relief, the pillar page for everything we know about tapping and physical pain.
• The 9 tapping points, with a printable chart.
• EFT tapping phrases and EFT tapping scripts, for more ways to word a round.
• Try Release a Headache free in The Tapping Solution App.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does tapping help headaches?

Many people find it does, especially for tension headaches. Tapping doesn't treat whatever is physically causing a headache; it works on the stress and muscle tension that are among the top triggers for tension-type headaches. A randomized controlled trial of 35 people with tension headaches found that two months of EFT reduced both how often headaches occurred and how intense they felt.

Does tapping help migraines?

Migraine is a distinct neurological condition, and it needs a doctor's diagnosis and treatment plan; tapping is not a substitute for that. Alongside your care, tapping can help with the stress that often triggers or worsens a migraine, and with the fear and dread of the next one, which is its own kind of stress.

Where do you tap for a headache?

The standard EFT points: the side of the hand for the setup, then eyebrow, side of eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under arm, and top of head, tuning in to the tightness or pressure as you go.

What do you say when tapping for a headache?

Start with the sensation itself, naming it specifically: where it is, what it feels like (tight, pounding, a band of pressure), and what's underneath it, often stress, screen fatigue, or tension in your neck and shoulders. Naming the real, specific experience tends to bring the intensity down faster than just saying "headache."

What did the tapping and headache study find?

A randomized controlled trial of 35 people with tension-type headaches in Athens split participants into an EFT group and a waitlist control group. After two months of EFT, practiced twice daily, the EFT group reported both fewer headache episodes and less intense ones, along with lower perceived stress and better quality of life. Salivary cortisol, a stress hormone the researchers also measured, did not change significantly in either group.

When should I see a doctor about a headache?

See a doctor right away for a sudden, severe headache unlike any you've had before, a headache after a head injury, or a headache with fever, a stiff neck, or vision changes. Also see a doctor if your headache pattern changes, gets more frequent, or stops responding to what usually helps. Tapping is a tool for the stress and tension around a headache, not a diagnosis or a replacement for medical care.

References

1. “Tension-Type Headaches.” Cleveland Clinic. Updated February 4, 2021. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8257-tension-type-headaches
2. “Tension Headache.” MedlinePlus. Updated April 1, 2022. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000797.htm
3. Turkistani A, Shah A, Jose AM, et al. Effectiveness of Manual Therapy and Acupuncture in Tension-Type Headache: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2021;13(8):e17601. Published 2021 Aug 31. doi:10.7759/cureus.17601
4. Krøll LS, Callesen HE, Carlsen LN, et al. Manual joint mobilisation techniques, supervised physical activity, psychological treatment, acupuncture and patient education for patients with tension-type headache. A systematic review and meta-analysis [published correction appears in J Headache Pain. 2021 Oct 6;22(1):116]. J Headache Pain. 2021;22(1):96. Published 2021 Aug 21. doi:10.1186/s10194-021-01298-4
5. Bougea AM, Spandideas N, Alexopoulos EC, Thomaides T, Chrousos GP, Darviri C. Effect of the emotional freedom technique on perceived stress, quality of life, and cortisol salivary levels in tension-type headache sufferers: a randomized controlled trial. Explore (NY). 2013;9(2):91-99. doi:10.1016/j.explore.2012.12.005. See also the Evidence Atlas summary of this study.
6. Viero FT, Rodrigues P, Trevisan G. Cognitive or daily stress association with headache and pain induction in migraine and tension-type headache patients: a systematic review. Expert Rev Neurother. 2022;22(3):257-268. doi:10.1080/14737175.2022.2041414
7. Stapleton P, Crighton G, Sabot D, O'Neill HM. Reexamining the effect of emotional freedom techniques on stress biochemistry: A randomized controlled trial. Psychol Trauma. 2020;12(8):869-877.