Do you seem to get headaches frequently? Not migraine headaches that incapacitate you, but common headaches that creep up on you and ruin your day. Stop looking for another pill to pop and try to identify the source of these headaches, which may be brought on by stress.
Chronic headaches may come from one of three sources:
1. Stress and Tension – Stress has a way of accumulating like the clutter in your hall closet. Eventually, it just overflows. Along with stress, you feel tension in your muscles. And the tension spreads until your shoulders are tired, your neck feels like it can’t hold up your head and eventually – your head throbs.
The pain actually comes from decreased blood flow to you head, but that’s the physical explanation. The real root cause is stress. If you want to stop the tension headaches, you have to take time to relax.
Walk away from work and take a break. Don’t bring work home with you. Give yourself twenty minutes to unwind after work. Lie down or recline in a comfortable chair. Put a cool gel pack over your eyes and think about anything except your to-do list and the problems of the day. You may prefer to use that time to meditate or pray. Just give yourself time to transition so that you can enjoy your dinner and prepare for a good nights sleep. All of these things will help reduce your stress levels and tension headaches.
2. Insomnia – You simply have to have a good night’s sleep. That means 8 hours, not 5 hours and a cat nap. You need enough restful sleep to allow the body to repair itself and overcome what you put it through during the day. If you aren’t getting enough sleep or good quality sleep, you are a candidate for headaches. And don’t try to self-medicate with sleep aids. See your doctor to find out the reason for the sleep problem and work it out.
3. Undiagnosed Medical Condition – A headache may be a warning sign that you need a medical checkup. Particularly if you have not had headaches often in the past and suddenly you have them daily, then you need to find out why. Don’t panic and think that a headache must mean a brain tumor, but it could. More likely it’s a symptom of something less severe. Either way, you need to pay attention to this headache and respect that your body is desperately trying to get your attention.
Smoking, alcohol and illegal drugs can also be responsible for producing headaches. Your body does not perform well when treated with such disregard. Fad diets and highly restrictive diets can also throw your body out of balance so much that you start to get headaches.
Listen to the message in your headache and do something to gain long term relief.
Martin Neumann was trained for Lifestyle Interventions in 1998 at Wildwood Lifestyle Center & Hospital. Since then he has lectured in different parts of the world about a healthy lifestyle and natural remedies. He is the founder of the Abundant Health website.
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is fantastic blog. A fantastic read. I will definitely be back.