Nearly three quarters of women suffered from a headache in the past six months, compared to only 62 percent of men, reports the Daily Telegraph. In addition, nearly a fifth of women endured a migraine in the last half year, compared to 15 percent of men.

The reasons why women suffer more headaches and migraines?

According to a poll taken by Mintel, a global market research firm based in London, the “growing pressure to diet, the menopause, and the burden of being the ‘primary carer’ for the children” are the root causes of women’s headaches. In fact, Mintel's research suggests all the worry and concern for young children means new parents may be more vulnerable to multiple aches and pain than any other demographic.

That said, students may rival young parents in terms of pain. Roshida Khanom, a Mintel beauty and personal care analyst, noted that technology might also be having negative effects as more students (76 percent) suffer headache than any other age group. This may be due to heavy workloads but it also might be the result of too much time spent on laptops and staring at smartphones.

“With all the talk about youth unemployment it's a stressful time to be a student and they are also spending far more time glued to a screen of some description,’ Khanom told the Daily Telegraph.

Is it really your head aching?

A Harvard Medical School report states the cause of nine out of 10 headaches is not fully understood. Scientists know, for instance, that the brain tissue and the skull cannot be responsible as they lack nerves to register pain. “But the blood vessels in the head and neck can signal pain, as can the tissues that surround the brain and some major nerves that originate in the brain. The scalp, sinuses, teeth, and muscles and joints of the neck can also cause head pain,” the Harvard Health Publication, Headache: When to worry, What to do, notes.

How people handle a headache varies according to gender. "Women are more likely to have a headache but also to do something about it, to not let pain get in the way,” Khanom told the Daily Telegraph. “Men are more likely to try and ‘man up’ but complain about it."

Khanom discovered all of these headache facts while looking into the statistics on over-the-counter painkillers. She described the non-prescription market in the U.K. as worth just under £600 million (roughly $936 million) with sales of topical analgesics rising five percent in the past year alone.

But what about that most ancient of causes?

"It's fair to say of course that yes, some of the headaches will be hangovers," Khanom told the Daily Telegraph.