Best Tea for Headaches: 8 Teas for Migraine, Tension Headache and Dehydration
The best teas for headaches are ginger, a caffeinated tea such as black or green, and feverfew. Ginger powder matched the migraine drug sumatriptan at relieving pain within two hours in a 100-patient trial; caffeine, at the dose in two cups of black tea, measurably increases the effect of paracetamol or ibuprofen according to a Cochrane review; and feverfew extract reduced migraine frequency by about 0.6 attacks a month in the largest prevention trial. The rest of this list, peppermint, hydration, willow bark, lavender and chamomile, has weaker or indirect evidence, and we say so.
The tea you choose depends on the headache. A tension headache (dull, both sides, tight band) responds to warmth, hydration, caffeine in moderation and relaxation, so chamomile or peppermint with a painkiller is sensible. A migraine (throbbing, one-sided, with nausea or light sensitivity) responds to early treatment, and ginger tea at the first sign is the best-supported option here. A headache that arrives mid-afternoon with fatigue is often dehydration or caffeine withdrawal, and the fix is plain hot water or a modest cup of tea, not a herb.
See a clinician urgently, not a teapot, for a sudden 'thunderclap' headache, the worst headache of your life, a headache with fever and stiff neck, one after a head injury, or one with weakness, confusion, slurred speech or vision loss. Book a routine appointment if you have a new headache pattern over 50, headaches on more than 15 days a month, or if you use painkillers more than 10 days a month, which itself causes medication-overuse headache.
Quick answer
- Ginger — matched sumatriptan 50 mg for migraine pain at two hours in a 100-patient trial, with fewer side effects; also eases the nausea
- Black or green tea — the caffeine adds 5 to 10% more pain relief to paracetamol or ibuprofen (Cochrane); also treats caffeine-withdrawal headache
- Feverfew — for prevention, not acute pain; 0.6 fewer migraines a month in the largest trial
- Peppermint — the strong evidence is topical oil on the temples; the tea relaxes and soothes nausea
- Hot water or weak lemon tea — adding 1.5 litres of water a day improved headache-related quality of life in a trial; dehydration is a common cause
- Lavender — inhaling the steam helped 71% of migraine attacks versus 47% with placebo in one trial
The 8 best teas for headaches
Ranked by the strength of human evidence. Strong = multiple trials or a meta-analysis. Moderate = a few small trials. Preliminary = early, traditional or animal data.
In a double-blind trial of 100 people with migraine, 250 mg of ginger powder taken at headache onset reduced pain severity at two hours as much as 50 mg of sumatriptan, with side effects in 4% versus 20%. In an emergency department study of 60 patients, 400 mg of ginger extract added to intravenous ketoprofen gave greater pain reduction at 1.5 and 2 hours than ketoprofen alone. A 2021 meta-analysis of three trials (227 patients) found ginger improved pain-free rates at two hours and reduced nausea and vomiting. A 2020 trial of daily ginger for migraine prevention was negative, so use it at onset, not daily.
- Key evidence
- Maghbooli et al., Phytotherapy Research 2014 (ginger vs sumatriptan, n=100); Chen & Cai, American Journal of Emergency Medicine 2021 (meta-analysis).
- How to brew it
- At the first sign of a migraine: 2 to 3 g fresh ginger (a thumb-sized piece, grated) or 1 g (half a teaspoon) dried powder, 250 ml water simmered 10 minutes, covered; a second cup two hours later if needed.
- Best for
- Migraine with nausea, taken early; people who cannot or prefer not to take triptans.
- Cautions
- Above 4 g a day ginger has mild antiplatelet effects, so take care with warfarin, aspirin and other blood thinners. Can worsen reflux in some people. Up to 1 g a day is considered safe in pregnancy and is used for morning sickness.
A Cochrane review of 20 trials in 4,262 people found that adding 100 mg or more of caffeine to a standard painkiller increased the proportion getting good pain relief by 5 to 10 percentage points, the equivalent of one extra person in about 14 benefiting; the effect was clearest for headache. Two cups of black tea deliver 80 to 140 mg. Caffeine also constricts dilated cerebral vessels, which is why abrupt withdrawal causes headache in roughly half of regular users within 12 to 24 hours, and a cup of tea fixes that one. The trade-off is that daily caffeine above about 200 mg can increase migraine frequency and feed medication-overuse headache.
- Key evidence
- Derry, Derry & Moore, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2014 (caffeine as an analgesic adjuvant); Lipton et al., Journal of Headache and Pain 2017 (review).
- How to brew it
- Black tea: 2 to 3 g per 200 ml water just off the boil, 3 to 4 minutes, with your usual painkiller at the first sign of a headache. Green tea: 2 g per 200 ml at 75°C, 2 minutes, for a gentler 30 to 40 mg dose.
- Best for
- Tension headache, caffeine-withdrawal headache, and as a booster alongside paracetamol or ibuprofen for a migraine.
- Cautions
- Keep total caffeine under 200 mg a day if you get frequent migraines, and under 200 mg in pregnancy. Do not use caffeinated tea plus painkillers on more than 10 days a month, or you risk medication-overuse headache. Tea with meals cuts non-haem iron absorption sharply; iron deficiency is itself a headache cause.
Feverfew is a preventive, taken daily, not a painkiller. A 2015 Cochrane review of six trials in 561 people found mixed results, with the largest and best-designed trial positive: 170 migraine patients taking a standardised CO2 extract (6.25 mg three times daily) for 16 weeks had 1.9 fewer attacks a month, versus 1.3 fewer on placebo, a net benefit of about 0.6 attacks a month. Earlier trials used dried leaf capsules with similar or smaller effects. Parthenolide content in home-grown or shop-bought leaf varies widely, which is the main weakness of the tea form.
- Key evidence
- Wider, Pittler & Ernst, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015; Diener et al., Cephalalgia 2005 (MIG-99 RCT, n=170).
- How to brew it
- 1 to 2 g dried leaf (about a teaspoon), 200 ml water at 90°C, covered, 10 minutes; one cup daily for at least two months before judging. Very bitter: add honey or blend with lemon balm.
- Best for
- People with two or more migraines a month who want a daily preventive before trying prescription options.
- Cautions
- Avoid in pregnancy (stimulates the uterus) and with warfarin or antiplatelet drugs. Chewing fresh leaf causes mouth ulcers; stick to tea. Stopping suddenly after long use can cause rebound headache, muscle stiffness and poor sleep, so taper. Avoid if allergic to the daisy family.
Peppermint's headache evidence is for the oil applied to the skin, not the tea. In 41 people with tension-type headache, a 10% peppermint oil solution rubbed onto the forehead and temples reduced pain within 15 minutes as effectively as 1,000 mg of paracetamol, and more than placebo, across 164 headache episodes. Menthol activates cold receptors and relaxes pericranial muscles. The tea gives you menthol vapour through the nose, which is probably why people find it eases a tension headache, plus a reliable effect on the nausea that comes with migraine. Honest grade: Preliminary for the cup, Moderate for the oil.
- Key evidence
- Göbel et al., Nervenarzt 1996 (topical peppermint oil vs paracetamol, n=41); Göbel et al., Cephalalgia 1994.
- How to brew it
- 1 tablespoon fresh leaves or 1.5 to 2 g dried, 200 ml water just off the boil, covered, 7 to 10 minutes; breathe the steam before drinking. For the trial-backed effect, also dab diluted peppermint oil on the temples.
- Best for
- Tension headache, especially with a tight neck and shoulders, and migraine nausea.
- Cautions
- Relaxes the lower oesophageal sphincter and worsens reflux and hiatal hernia symptoms. Keep undiluted oil away from the eyes and never apply it to the face of a baby or young child. Peppermint tea reduces iron absorption from meals by about 80%.
The least glamorous entry has a real trial. In 102 people with recurrent headaches, adding 1.5 litres of water a day for three months improved migraine-specific quality of life by 4.5 points versus controls, and 47% reported their headaches were much improved compared with 25% of controls, though headache days did not fall significantly. Mild dehydration is a recognised headache trigger, and a hot drink is simply an easier way to take water in. Lemon adds nothing pharmacological, only taste that makes people drink more.
- Key evidence
- Spigt et al., Family Practice 2012 (RCT of increased water intake, n=102).
- How to brew it
- 250 ml hot (not boiling) water with a slice or a squeeze of lemon, sipped over 10 minutes; repeat every couple of hours on a headache day, aiming for 1.5 to 2 litres of total fluid.
- Best for
- Afternoon headaches with fatigue, headaches after exercise, travel or alcohol, and anyone who struggles to drink plain water.
- Cautions
- Lemon is acidic enough to soften tooth enamel with frequent sipping; rinse with plain water afterwards. Avoid if lemon triggers your reflux. No drug interactions.
Willow bark contains salicin, which the body converts to salicylic acid, aspirin's active metabolite. The human trials are in low back pain and osteoarthritis, not headache: 240 mg of salicin a day for four weeks left more people pain-free than placebo in a 210-patient trial. Nothing has tested it for headache specifically, and a cup of bark tea delivers an unpredictable salicin dose, usually well below a standard aspirin. It earns a place as a mild, traditional analgesic tea for tension headache, with the same cautions as aspirin.
- Key evidence
- Chrubasik et al., American Journal of Medicine 2000 (willow bark RCT in low back pain, n=210).
- How to brew it
- 2 to 3 g dried bark, 300 ml water, simmered gently 10 to 15 minutes, strained; one to two cups a day for a few days at most. Astringent; add honey.
- Best for
- Tension headache in adults who tolerate aspirin and want something gentler than a tablet.
- Cautions
- Treat it like aspirin: avoid with aspirin allergy, asthma triggered by aspirin, stomach ulcers, warfarin and other blood thinners, and in the last trimester of pregnancy. Never give to children or teenagers with a viral illness (Reye's syndrome risk). Avoid with other NSAIDs.
In a placebo-controlled trial of 47 people with migraine, inhaling lavender essential oil for 15 minutes at the start of an attack led to improvement in 71% of 129 attacks, versus 47% of 68 attacks with a paraffin placebo. That is inhalation, not tea, but a cup of lavender tea puts the same volatile oils in the steam under your nose. There is no trial of the tea for headache, and swallowing culinary lavender adds only a mild calming effect. The honest grade is Preliminary, with a sensible mechanism.
- Key evidence
- Sasannejad et al., European Neurology 2012 (lavender inhalation RCT in migraine, n=47).
- How to brew it
- 1 teaspoon (about 1 g) dried culinary lavender buds, 200 ml water at 90°C, 5 minutes, strained; lean over the cup and breathe the steam for a few minutes before drinking.
- Best for
- Migraine with light and sound sensitivity, when you need to lie down in a dark room anyway.
- Cautions
- Mildly sedating; additive with sedatives. Strong smells trigger migraine in some people, so test it on a headache-free day first. Culinary lavender is low-risk in pregnancy; concentrated oil is not.
Chamomile's only migraine trial used a topical gel: in 100 patients, a chamomile oleogel applied at onset reduced pain, nausea, photophobia and phonophobia at 30 minutes more than placebo. The tea has no headache trial. Its place on this list rests on its anxiety and sleep evidence (a 2019 meta-analysis of 12 trials) and on the fact that stress and poor sleep are the two most common tension-headache triggers. Apigenin is mildly anti-inflammatory and GABA-active, so a covered cup at the end of a tense day is a reasonable, low-risk preventive habit rather than a treatment.
- Key evidence
- Zargaran et al., Neurological Sciences 2018 (topical chamomile oleogel RCT, n=100); Hieu et al., Phytotherapy Research 2019 (meta-analysis for anxiety and sleep).
- How to brew it
- 2 to 3 g dried flowers (a heaped tablespoon or two bags), 200 ml water just off the boil, covered, 10 minutes; one cup in the evening on days when your neck and shoulders are tight.
- Best for
- Tension headaches driven by stress and bad sleep; a nightly preventive rather than something you reach for mid-attack.
- Cautions
- Possible interaction with warfarin (case report of raised INR). Avoid if allergic to ragweed, daisies or chrysanthemums. Daily medicinal doses are not well studied in pregnancy, though culinary amounts are considered low-risk.
How to choose
- Throbbing, one-sided, with nausea (migraine): ginger tea at the very first sign, with your usual painkiller; add lavender steam if light hurts.
- Dull band around the head after a long day (tension): peppermint or chamomile, a cup of black tea with paracetamol if it is bad, and heat on the neck.
- Afternoon headache with tiredness: hot water with lemon first; if you skipped your usual coffee or tea, a modest cup of black tea will end it within an hour.
- Two or more migraines a month: a daily feverfew tea for two months as a preventive, and a headache diary to prove whether it works.
- Pregnant: ginger (up to 1 g dried a day), hot water with lemon and chamomile are the options; skip feverfew, willow bark and lavender oil, and keep caffeine under 200 mg.
- On blood thinners: hot water, chamomile (tell your clinician) and lavender; avoid willow bark, feverfew and more than 4 g of ginger a day.
What to skip
Butterbur tea
Butterbur extract has genuine migraine-prevention trials (48% fewer attacks in one), but every positive trial used a purified extract with the pyrrolizidine alkaloids removed. Raw butterbur root or leaf steeped as tea contains those alkaloids, which damage the liver. Never brew it.
'Caffeine-free means headache-safe'
If you drink coffee or tea every day, skipping it causes withdrawal headache in about half of people within 12 to 24 hours. Weekend headaches are often this. Tapering caffeine slowly is the fix, not switching cold to herbal.
Detox or 'cleansing' teas for headaches
These blends usually contain senna or other laxatives, which cause dehydration and electrolyte loss, two reliable headache triggers. There is no toxin that a tea removes to prevent headaches.
Rosemary tea for migraine
Popular online, but the evidence is laboratory and tradition only, and rosemary's volatile oils are a migraine trigger for some people. Ginger has actual trials; use that.
Safety and when to see a clinician
- Red flags that need urgent care, not tea: a sudden severe headache peaking within a minute, the worst headache of your life, headache with fever and stiff neck or rash, after a head injury, or with weakness, confusion, slurred speech or vision loss.
- Using painkillers (including caffeine-containing ones) on more than 10 days a month causes medication-overuse headache; a cup of black tea with every tablet counts toward this.
- Willow bark acts like aspirin: avoid with aspirin allergy, ulcers, blood thinners, in late pregnancy and in children and teenagers.
- Feverfew and ginger above 4 g a day both have antiplatelet effects; avoid combining with warfarin, clopidogrel or high-dose aspirin, and stop both two weeks before surgery.
- Pregnancy: ginger up to 1 g dried a day, chamomile and hot water are the safe options; avoid feverfew, willow bark and butterbur, and keep caffeine under 200 mg a day.
- See a clinician for headaches on more than 15 days a month, a new pattern after age 50, headaches that wake you from sleep, or any headache that is steadily worsening over weeks; these need assessment, and preventive treatment works well.
What matters as much as the tea
- Keep a headache diary for a month: time, food, sleep, caffeine, weather, cycle. Most people find one or two triggers they can control.
- Regular meals and a fixed sleep schedule: skipped meals and both too little and too much sleep are top-three migraine triggers in diary studies.
- Keep caffeine steady day to day rather than high on weekdays and zero at weekends; it is the variation, not the dose, that triggers withdrawal headaches.
- Magnesium (400 to 600 mg a day) and riboflavin (400 mg a day) have placebo-controlled trials for migraine prevention and are in the American Headache Society guidelines; ask your clinician.
- Posture, screen height and an eye test fix a surprising share of 'tension' headaches, particularly ones that start mid-afternoon at a desk.
Frequently asked questions
What tea is good for headaches?
Ginger tea has the best evidence for migraine, matching sumatriptan for pain relief at two hours in a 100-patient trial. For a tension headache, a cup of black tea with paracetamol works better than paracetamol alone, because caffeine boosts the painkiller. For a dehydration headache, hot water with lemon is the fastest fix.
Does caffeine help or cause headaches?
Both. Caffeine with a painkiller adds 5 to 10% more relief, and it ends a caffeine-withdrawal headache within an hour. But daily intake over about 200 mg raises migraine frequency in some people, and caffeine plus painkillers on more than 10 days a month leads to medication-overuse headache. One or two cups a day, taken consistently, is the sweet spot.
Is green tea good for migraines?
Moderately. A cup gives 20 to 45 mg of caffeine, enough to help a painkiller work and to treat mild withdrawal, with theanine that takes the edge off caffeine's jitters. It is not a migraine treatment in itself; ginger has the trial evidence for that. If caffeine triggers your migraines, choose decaf.
What tea helps a tension headache?
Peppermint (breathe the steam, and ideally dab diluted peppermint oil on the temples, which matched paracetamol in a trial), chamomile in the evening to address the stress and poor sleep behind it, and a modest cup of black tea with a painkiller if it is severe. Heat on the neck and shoulders helps as much as any of them.
Can ginger tea replace migraine medication?
In one trial, 250 mg of ginger powder matched 50 mg of sumatriptan at two hours, which is impressive, but it is a single 100-patient study. Ginger is a reasonable first move for mild-to-moderate attacks and for people who cannot take triptans. If your migraines are severe or frequent, use ginger alongside your prescribed treatment and discuss prevention with your clinician.
Is feverfew tea safe to drink every day?
For most non-pregnant adults not on blood thinners, yes, for a trial of two to three months. Use dried leaf tea rather than chewing fresh leaves (which cause mouth ulcers), and taper off rather than stopping suddenly to avoid rebound headaches. Its effect is modest: about 0.6 fewer migraines a month in the best trial.
Which tea is safe for headaches during pregnancy?
Ginger tea (up to 1 g of dried ginger a day, the dose used for morning sickness), chamomile in moderation and hot water with lemon. Keep caffeine under 200 mg a day. Avoid feverfew, willow bark, butterbur and lavender oil. A new or severe headache in pregnancy, especially after 20 weeks, needs same-day assessment to rule out pre-eclampsia.
References
- Maghbooli M, Golipour F, Moghimi Esfandabadi A, Yousefi M. Comparison between the efficacy of ginger and sumatriptan in the ablative treatment of the common migraine. Phytotherapy Research (2014)
- Martins LB, Rodrigues AMDS, Rodrigues DF, et al.. Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) addition in migraine acute treatment. Cephalalgia (2019)
- Chen L, Cai Z. The efficacy of ginger for the treatment of migraine: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. American Journal of Emergency Medicine (2021)
- Derry CJ, Derry S, Moore RA. Caffeine as an analgesic adjuvant for acute pain in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2014)
- Lipton RB, Diener HC, Robbins MS, Garas SY, Patel K. Caffeine in the management of patients with headache. Journal of Headache and Pain (2017)
- Wider B, Pittler MH, Ernst E. Feverfew for preventing migraine. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2015)
- Diener HC, Pfaffenrath V, Schnitker J, Friede M, Henneicke-von Zepelin HH. Efficacy and safety of 6.25 mg t.i.d. feverfew CO2-extract (MIG-99) in migraine prevention: a randomized, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled study. Cephalalgia (2005)
- Göbel H, Fresenius J, Heinze A, Dworschak M, Soyka D. Effectiveness of Oleum menthae piperitae and paracetamol in therapy of headache of the tension type. Nervenarzt (1996)
- Spigt M, Weerkamp N, Troost J, van Schayck CP, Knottnerus JA. A randomized trial on the effects of regular water intake in patients with recurrent headaches. Family Practice (2012)
- Sasannejad P, Saeedi M, Shoeibi A, Gorji A, Abbasi M, Foroughipour M. Lavender essential oil in the treatment of migraine headache: a placebo-controlled clinical trial. European Neurology (2012)
- Chrubasik S, Eisenberg E, Balan E, Weinberger T, Luzzati R, Conradt C. Treatment of low back pain exacerbations with willow bark extract: a randomized double-blind study. American Journal of Medicine (2000)
- Butterbur. National Center for Complementary and Integrative HealthView source
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Ask about tea for headachesThis guide is educational and is not medical advice. Herbal teas can interact with prescription medicines. Talk with a clinician or pharmacist before relying on any of them, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a chronic condition, or take medication.