When your head is pounding, you may be more likely to reach for a painkiller than your sneakers. But working out with a headache isn’t such a far-fetched proposition. In fact, exercise might help get rid of head pain in the moment and keep future headaches at bay. 

That said, not all headaches are the same, and exercising with a headache isn’t always the right move. Exercise can make some types of head pain worse, and so can hitting the gym without taking certain key precautions like staying hydrated. “Exercise is definitely a trigger [for head pain] as well as a treatment,” says Yohannes Woldeamanuel, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic Arizona. 

So how can you decide if you should work out with a headache? We spoke with experts to learn when exercise can help and when it can make things worse. Keep reading to learn how to tap into the benefits of exercise for head pain, without the downsides. 

Should You Work Out with a Headache?

There are 300 types of headaches, Dr. Woldeamanuel says, and while it’s safe and even beneficial to work out with some of them, exercise can worsen others. That doesn’t mean that everyone who experiences certain types of head pain can never work out, he stresses; in fact, completely avoiding exercise can often worsen headaches. But you may need to adjust your routine.

It’s typically OK to work out with tension-type headaches or stress headaches (the most common type of headaches, often linked to muscle tightness in the head, neck, and scalp caused by muscle tension, stress, or fatigue), as long as you avoid pushing yourself too hard, according to neurologist Jin Li, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology at New York Medical College and chief of the Neuromuscular Section at Westchester Medical Center. 

But it’s not a good idea to work out with dehydration headaches (since exercise can worsen dehydration), exertional headaches (which are caused by movement in the first place), or cluster headaches (exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which may exacerbate symptoms of this sudden, one-sided type of head pain), Dr. Li says. 

Whether or not you should work out with a migraine is a little more complicated. Dr. Li says that, in general, when you have a mild migraine it’s safe to try gentle exercise like walking or yoga. But she doesn’t recommend trying to exercise during severe episodes, since movement has the potential to aggravate symptoms. 

All that said, people don’t always know what type of headache they’re experiencing, so it can be hard to predict whether exercise is going to help their symptoms or not, Dr. Woldeamanuel says. That’s why he suggests rating your pain on a scale of 1–10 before beginning your workout, then being aware of where on the scale you are as you continue to move. “If they say 3 [before exercising], I’ll tell them, ‘We’ll exercise until it reaches a 5.’ If it reaches 5, we’ll dial back or call it a day,” he says.

Will Working Out with a Headache Get Rid of It?

Yes, working out with a headache can make certain types of head pain go away, including tension or stress headaches, Dr. Li says. 

How? Exercise reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which plays a role in the development of stress-related head pain, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which has a calming effect on the body, Dr. Li says. 

Additionally, aerobic exercise increases endorphins, serotonin, and endocannabinoids, chemicals released by the brain with pain-relieving properties, while upper body strength training relaxes muscle tension that can otherwise contribute to head pain, according to 2025 research in the journal Healthcare. 

The study also reports that exercise activates pathways in the brain that reduce feelings of pain. When your muscles contract, certain skeletal muscle fibers are activated. These muscle fibers switch on the body’s natural opioid system, which is partially responsible for regulating the brain’s response to painful sensations.  

But again, not all headaches can be relieved by hitting the gym, and in some cases exercise can make head pain worse. So if you have a headache and you decide to work out, avoid trying to push through worsening symptoms—remember, that may be a sign that you’re dealing with a dehydration headache, cluster headache, or severe migraine, and you’d be better off resting until you’ve totally recovered. 

Can Working Out Prevent Headaches? 

While exercise can’t help get rid of every type of headache, staying active can help you avoid getting headaches in the future. Studies show that people who work out at least three times per week are less likely to experience migraines than those who aren’t, Dr. Woldeamanuel says. 

Regular activity can help you get migraines or headaches less often, and can make them less painful and shorter when they do crop up. Research published in The Journal of Headache and Pain in 2019 found that aerobic exercise can reduce the number of migraine days someone experiences (by about 0.6 days per month), cut the duration of each migraine episode by 20–27 percent, and reduce pain intensity by 20–54 percent. What’s more, recent research in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found that people who performed strength workouts and vigorous exercise were 52 percent less likely to experience severe headaches or migraines.  

So why might exercise make migraines and headaches less likely? For one, working out, particularly in the morning, helps reset our circadian rhythms, and circadian rhythm dysfunction can contribute to headaches and migraines, Dr. Woldeamanuel says. Plus, exercise prompts our muscles to release compounds that have a calming effect on the nerve cells involved in headache pain.

Are Certain Workouts More Effective for Headaches?

Aerobic exercise (such as cycling, swimming, or brisk walking), strength training, and restorative exercise (including tai chi and yoga) can all be effective at getting rid of headaches or reducing their frequency, Dr. Li says. But there are some considerations to keep in mind about which workout will work best for you.

Restorative activities like yoga may be helpful at reducing stress, she says, which may be particularly beneficial for stress-related tension headaches. 

Meanwhile, “aerobic exercise [may be] most effective for reducing [the] frequency and severity of tension-type headaches,” Dr. Li says. Aerobic exercises such as jogging or brisk walking, cycling, and swimming may be especially effective at stimulating the release of endorphins, which reduce pain and relax muscle tension. 

Strength training can also be helpful, in part by improving posture, Dr. Li says. This may reduce the likelihood of muscle tightness or spasms leading to head pain. But it’s important to use proper form.

Additionally, “muscle strengthening seems to be the top-ranking [type of exercise] in terms of reducing migraine,” Dr. Woldeamanuel adds. He explains that protein-like molecules called neuropeptides are secreted from the muscles during strength training and “go all the way to the brain to reduce activity in the trigeminal ganglion,” a cluster of nerve cells at the base of the skull that relays pain signals from the face to the brain, and is closely correlated with migraine pain. Lifting weights also causes the muscles to release myokines, compounds that reduce inflammation and relieve pain, and generally increases pain tolerance (for any type of pain, not just head pain), he says.  

So while gentle cardio or yoga may be the move if you currently have a headache and want to try to ease your pain with exercise, when it comes to preventing future episodes, Dr. Woldeamanuel suggests a split of about 70 percent muscle strengthening activities and 30 percent cardio. (Of course, every person and workout routine are unique, so do what’s best for you and ask your doctor for any personalized guidance.)

Tips for Exercising with a Headache

If your head is aching but you still want to exercise—whether to try and relieve some of that pain or to simply keep up with your regular fitness routine—here are a few pro tips on how to best do so:

The Takeaway

Exercise can help get rid of headaches, and sticking to a regular workout routine can help prevent headaches and migraine too. That said, not every type of head pain will respond well to exercise, and sometimes working out with a headache can make pain worse. Your strategy for success: Hydrate properly, stick to low-intensity activities, and keep tabs on your symptoms. If your pain gets worse, throw in the towel for the day and don’t be afraid to reach out to your healthcare provider.