An expert has revealed that holding a pencil between your teeth can help with headaches because it relaxes your jaw and eases tension and pain.

Tension headaches are the most common type people suffer from and the band-like pressure felt across the forehead can last for almost an hour.

And while most people would head to the medicine cabinet to cure their pain, an aesthetic specialist Doctor Jane Leonard has suggested another treatment.

Dr Leonard explained to the Express online that headaches are often caused by face, neck, jaw and scalp muscle spasms.

“Patients often hold their temples to indicate where the source of the pain is,” she explained.

“This is due to spasm of a fan-shaped muscle found across the temples spreading the back of the head called temporalis.”

But the main causes for headaches are usually as a result of stress, tiredness and emotional upset.

Dr Leonard said: “Temporomandibular dysfunction or TMJ dysfunction can also cause tension headaches. The main cause is jaw clenching and teeth grinding during sleep.

“This causes spasm of the chewing muscles, which causes a tension – like pain.

“TMJ dysfunction is best managed by tackling the underlying cause of stress.”

Dr Leonard recommended simple relaxation methods such a gently massaging the forehead and jaw, also stretching exercises and eating softer food can be beneficial.

But also the holistic pencil technique can help as it’s an effective method to cure tension headaches and TMJ dysfunction.

According to Dr Leonard, holding a pencil between your teeth, but not biting it, can help relax your jaw muscle.

Dr Leonard said: “This is an exercise to try to relax the chewing muscles, which are in spasm in TMJ dysfunction.

“Holistic approaches are recommended as an effective way to treat tension headaches and TMJ dysfunction.

“Addressing the underlying cause, for example stress and anxiety is more effective than medication alone.”

However, medication, such as painkillers, can also be used to help cure your tension headache, depending on the cause of it.