If you could know how to avoid getting a headache, no doubt you would do everything in your power to keep them away. We’re going to take a closer look at six common headache triggers, so you can see which ones may be affecting you. This is one way to reduce the frequency of your headaches. At the conclusion of our article, we will discuss a natural way that many are discovering provides help for chronic headache issues.
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Do you find that your headaches are worse on the weekends when you are relaxing than during the week when you are stressed out with work? You’re not alone. In fact, researchers are finding that this phenomenon may be related to a sudden drop in stress hormones when you finally get to relax. What can you do?
First, you want to try and limit your stress by having positive coping mechanisms. Whether you do some stretching on your lunch break or read a good book in the tub after a long day of work, not letting the stress build up as much will reduce the sudden hormone changes. Don’t let the weekend be your only respite from stress, or you may find you can’t even enjoy it fully due to a headache.
Like stress, anger can also send tension straight into your neck and shoulders. For most people, this is the precursor to a tension headache or even a migraine. So does that mean it’s healthier just to release all that rage? No, the real key is to learn to control anger. Whether it is through breathing exercises, counting to 10, or increasing the amount of exercise you get on a daily basis, a positive way to cope with anger could lead to fewer headaches.
Especially if you work in an office setting, you may notice that you are prone to slump over your desk. Sitting up straight may not even feel natural anymore by the end of a long day at the office. But poor posture can have similar effects on the neck and shoulders as stress and anger. Therefore, it is important to maintain good posture in order to avoid headaches. Proper alignment is vital to having good posture feel natural. A posture corrector may help you to maintain your posture. Getting up every hour or so to stretch is also a good idea.
The problem with this trigger is that there is no way to avoid it. All you can do is look at the weather report and know in advance if today is likely to be a headache day. What types of weather conditions can trigger headaches? Barometric pressure changes, temperature extremes, high humidity, and even nearby lightning strikes have all been connected with headaches.
If you haven’t heard that term before, it’s just a fancy way of saying that a person grinds his or her teeth. Do you often wake up with a stiff or sore jaw? Are your teeth wearing despite your best efforts to care for them? Grinding your teeth in your sleep may be the issue, and it could be contributing to your headaches too. Most dentists can design a custom mouthguard for you to wear while you sleep so you can get the problem under control. Since bruxism is usually related to stress, finding positive ways to cope with stress is, once again, the top way of avoiding this headache trigger.
This can come from a number of sources. It may be the sun, the lighting at your place of work, or even the glare that comes from computer screens and mobile devices. There are a few ways to protect yourself if lights are a headache trigger for you.
First, invest in a good pair of sunglasses. This is especially important during your daily commute. Second, see if you can get your next pair of glasses to have a clear coating for blocking the blue light that comes from screens. While this coating used to be a weird yellow color, it is now available as a clear coat, so you can protect yourself from headaches without having to stand out. If you don’t have to wear glasses, you may be able to have a non-prescription pair made with anti-glare and anti-blue light coatings.
If you suffer from headaches on a regular basis, you need a natural way to cope. Avoiding triggers is great for reducing the frequency of headaches, but triggers are not the underlying problem. You may have noticed how many headache triggers affect the neck. The issues can either be responsible for upper cervical misalignments or may aggravate an existing misalignment. How can this be the potential basis for a headache?
Since the C1 vertebrae (atlas) surrounds the brainstem, even the slightest misalignment can have a negative impact. Also, the cervical spine facilitates blood flow to the brain, so misalignments in this part of the neck can affect the central nervous system in a number of ways. Correcting the misalignment may thus lead to fewer headaches or maybe even complete resolution of the problem.
If you suffer from headaches or migraines, especially if you have experienced head or neck trauma in the past, we encourage you to contact an upper cervical practice near you. A consultation may be your first step in finding natural help for your headache woes.
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The content and materials provided in this web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to supplement or comprise a medical diagnosis or other professional opinion, or to be used in lieu of a consultation with a physician or competent health care professional for medical diagnosis and/or treatment. All content and materials including research papers, case studies and testimonials summarizing patients' responses to care are intended for educational purposes only and do not imply a guarantee of benefit. Individual results may vary, depending upon several factors including age of the patient, severity of the condition, severity of the spinal injury, and duration of time the condition has been present.
