Is your head taking over your life?
Headaches are one of the top complaints of people seeing a health provider. Whether you suffer from migraines, sinus pressure, or headaches- is there something you can do to prevent them?
Here are some very common things you can do to ease your mind and put the Tylenol away…
- Avoid regular caffeine and alcohol intake. While there has not been a strong scientific connection between any foods and headaches, the connect between fluids and headaches has been studied and proved time and again. A significant intake of alcohol and caffeine has been connected with stimulating migraines and headaches due to the withdraw symptoms. The American Headache Society details the mechanism of dependency on caffeine and subsequent withdraw in this article.
- Stay hydrated. Are you counting the wrong fluids as water? If your drink has any caffeine or carbonation- it will do more to dehydrate you. Make sure you are drinking between 64-96 fluid oz of hydrating fluids. A good rule of thumb is to remember the three c’s for your fluids: calories (less than 15 calories per 8 oz), caffeine (decaf beverages only), and carbonation (no carbonation- including soda/fizzy water/beer)
- Relax. Stress can play a great role on the body, including stimulating headaches. When stress occurs, we tend to tighten our muscles- especially in our neck and shoulders. This tension created from stress can limit blood flow causing headaches. Try to identify your sources of stress and make a plan to deal with them.
- Plan for your environment. Light, smells, noise, etc. It can all cause headaches! Be prepared with a pair of sunglasses if light triggers your headaches. Arm yourself with a small bottle of essential oil to rub under your nose for those odorous places you visit (lavender oil is a common headache relief scent) .
Headaches might be a part of your past, but they don’t have to rule your life. Try some of these tips to help combat future headaches.