Why does stress cause headaches?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Muscles tense around skull
Blood pressure drops suddenly — Wrong. Stress typically raises blood pressure temporarily. Stress headaches come from muscle tension, not blood pressure drops.
Muscles tense around skull ✓ — Correct! Stress triggers muscle tension—especially in neck, shoulders, jaw, and scalp muscles. These contracted muscles restrict blood flow and trigger pain receptors. This creates tension headaches (feels like a tight band around head). Stress also releases cortisol, which amplifies pain perception. Physical tension = headache!
Hormones block pain signals — Wrong. Stress hormones like cortisol actually increase pain sensitivity, not block it. Headaches come from muscle tension.
More Psychology & Behavior questions
- Why might someone value an IKEA table more after building it themselves than after simply receiving it assembled?
- If an IKEA store map includes shortcuts, why can the main route still shape a shopper's movement?
- Why can a pleasant room display and a cheap small item trigger buying that is not just careful price comparison?
- If two stores sell the same items, why can the one that routes shoppers past more departments generate more add-on purchases?
- Why does the sequence of showroom, market hall, and self-serve furniture area make commercial sense for a shopper choosing a sofa or table?
- Why can entering IKEA with a task like buying a shelf turn into noticing rooms, lamps, textiles, and storage ideas before the shelf is picked up?