How to Prevent a Headache
Headaches may be one of the most irritating things to happen during the course of an otherwise totally typical day. They seemingly come from nowhere and have the frustrating ability to stop you dead in your tracks, and render you completely useless. Some headaches are rather rare occurrences, fairly mild, and can usually be remedied with a few minutes of relaxation and a glass of water. Others are painfully recurrent and may cause horrible side-effects such as crippling pain and, in some cases, bouts of nausea.
How do you deal with headaches? Do you do your best to ignore them, carry on with your day, and hope that they go away on their own? Or do you stop whatever it is that you’re doing, retreat into a dark room, and lie down until you feel normal again? Whatever your personal preferences may be, there are a few good remedies for preventing them before they have the opportunity to ruin your day:
Take a break from staring at a screen
Now more than ever, due to both work and pleasure, we are spending an overwhelming amount of time in front of computer, tablet, and phone screen each day. This sort of screen exposure can potentially lead to recurrent headaches, due to eyestrain and poor posture. Therefore, it’s important to give your body a break from staring at a screen for intermittent periods throughout the day. If your daily work revolves around the use of a computer, give yourself five minutes out of every hour to get up, stretch, and give your eyes (and head) a break from the screen.
Drink more water
If headaches are a somewhat normal occurrence for you, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re dehydrated. Because your body loses fluids constantly throughout the course of a day, you are also losing potassium and sodium, both of which are nutrients that you body needs. And because your brain is sensitive to nutrient loss, that may be the answer as to why your head is pounding. So if you feel a headache lurking, save yourself hours of unnecessary discomfort and drink a few glasses of water.
Consider chiropractic care
Headaches can be triggered for a whole slew of reasons. Dr. George B. McClelland, a doctor of chiropractic from Christiansburg, VA, says, “the greatest majority of primary headaches are associated with muscle tension in the neck. Today, Americans engage in more sedentary activities than they used to, and more hours are spent in one fixed position or posture. This can increase joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp, causing your head to ache.” Chiropractors may be able to help to mitigate this sort of unnecessary stress by adjusting and loosening the muscles and joints in your neck, upper back, and shoulders.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of r. nial bradshaw