Whether a result of our work, home or social lives, all of us go through stressful periods. Now, new research has linked high stress levels to increased occurrence of headaches – an association that has long been suspected.

The study findings are due to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, in April.

The research team, including Dr. Sara H. Schramm of University Hospital at the University Duisburg-Essen in Germany, analyzed 5,159 people between the ages of 21 and 71 years old.

For 2 years, all participants were questioned about their headaches and stress levels four times each year. They were asked to report the number of headaches they had each month and to rate their stress levels on a scale of 0 to 100.

Over the 2-year period, 31% of participants reported a tension-type headache, 14% had migraine, 11% suffered a tension-type headache combined with migraine, while 17% reported a non-classified headache.

Participants who had a tension headache reported their stress levels at an average of 52 out of 100. Those who experienced migraine had average stress levels of 62 out of 100, while those with combined migraine and tension-type headaches reported average stress levels of 59 out of 100.