Meditation for tension headaches: 7-minute breathing session, before sleep

About this practice

A 7-minute breathing session for tension headaches, before sleep. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: tension headaches

Tension headaches follow a band of tightness across the forehead and around the skull, usually the product of long staring, jaw clenching and neck position.

It tends to show up as:

• A band of pressure across the forehead
• Pressure behind the eyes
• Ache worsening through the day

Softening the jaw, eyes and neck interrupts the pattern early. Once a tension headache settles in it is harder to shift.

Doing this before sleep

• Dim the lights and put the phone out of reach
• Do it in bed if that helps you stay there
• Let yourself fall asleep rather than finishing it

Checking anything afterwards undoes most of it. Let this be the last thing.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let your shoulders drop about a centimetre. That is roughly where most of us keep the day.
2. 0:15Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
3. 0:29Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
4. 0:40Nothing here is a test of concentration. Drifting off is part of it.
5. 0:53Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
6. 1:06Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
7. 1:17Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
8. 1:29Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
9. 1:41Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
10. 1:53Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the ache from a long staring day is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
11. 2:13Each time your mind hands you the band around the forehead, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
12. 2:32Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
13. 2:45Let this one be unhurried.
14. 2:54Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
15. 3:07If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
16. 3:20A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
17. 3:31Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
18. 3:45Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
19. 3:56Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
20. 4:09Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
21. 4:20Whatever the pressure building behind the eyes is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
22. 4:36If the ache from a long staring day has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
23. 4:55Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
24. 5:08If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
25. 5:21If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
26. 5:35I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
27. 5:48There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
28. 6:03Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
29. 6:16Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
30. 6:31Let it be this simple.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.