Golden Years Bliss presents you: surprising headache causes you should know about!
Headaches are never fun. The worst thing is that they last and can be intense. When it strikes, you just want it to end and never return. The sharp, pulsating pain can wreck you, causing you to miss work, social events, time with your family, and appointments.
Even though you might not get rid of migraines for good, you might be able to lessen their frequency by figuring out what triggers them. Regardless of whether you are more likely to get cluster headaches, migraines, or tension headaches, you can improve your health, feel better, and spend your days without worrying when a new migraine will strike.
So, without further ado, if you want to feel better, you have to treat yourself better. These are the most common headache causes:
1. Caffeine withdrawal
If you’re a caffeine lover and you can’t go a day without a much-needed cup of java (or more, we don’t judge), your body is used to getting its dose daily. However, if you suddenly stop drinking coffee, you could trigger a migraine, and it could last for hours.
Of course, if you want to quit coffee and you’d rather do it cold turkey than gradually, it will take your body a while to get used to the change. The reason why caffeine withdrawal is a major headache cause is because it triggers changes in your blood vessels.
For instance, when you drink caffeine regularly (whether from coffee, matcha, or tea), your blood vessels constrict. But when you stop it cold turkey, your blood vessels widen and bulge out with every heartbeat. If you want to say goodbye to caffeine, do it gradually and allow your body to adjust. If you were drinking two cups of coffee per day, for example, stick to one for a few days or weeks, and then cut it out completely.
2. Stress
This probably isn’t a surprise for you, but another common cause of headaches is stress. When you feel stressed, the muscles in your neck and shoulders tense, and this leads to tension headaches, according to experts. Unfortunately, when you frequently experience tension headaches, the pain in your muscles and your brain will perceive it as pain in the head.
3. Environment
Did you know that the environment is one of the most unpopular headache causes but is still a trigger for many people around the world? According to experts, several factors, such as smoke, intense scents, bright light, humidity, or cold weather, could be associated with migraines.
Moreover, people who suffer from cluster headaches stated that they tend not to feel well when the seasons change. Have you ever experienced something like this? If yes, share your story with us in the comments below!
4. Lack of sleep
Skipping precious amounts of sleep is one of the worst things you could do for your body. During the night, your body and your mind recharge, relax, and rejuvenate, and sleeping deficiency is associated with several health issues, such as kidney disease, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, depression, and obesity.
Besides all of these, sleep deprivation is, of course, one of the most common headache causes. According to patients, sleeping can help ameliorate the pain and can even prevent a migraine from happening in the first place. So if you constantly have headaches, prioritize your sleep and your rest period, so you can feel energized and ready for the day.
5. Alcohol intake
There’s no doubt that one of the most popular causes of headaches is alcohol intake. While some people have a high alcohol tolerance and can party all night without a single minute of feeling sick, the migraine will kick in the next morning.
For others, on the other hand, a few ounces of wine are all it takes for a migraine to occur. While researchers need to run more tests to know whether the alcohol itself is to blame or not, there are a few things you could do to feel better and still have fun.
With that being said, make sure you eat a nutritious meal or a snack before drinking, and try to gobble up at least twice the quantity of your alcohol in water, so your body is hydrated and doesn’t take as long to repair.
6. Hormones
Did you know that one of the most popular headache causes in women is estrogen levels? These hormonal changes make women suffer from migraines more often than men. In younger women, migraines can also be related to menstrual cycles.
Moreover, in certain cases, estrogen level spikes during perimenopause could also trigger migraines in women who had never suffered from such an issue. Experts say that another headache cause could be estrogen therapy, but the good news is that for most women, migraines tend to stop with menopause.
7. Too much sleep
As we’ve already discussed, lack of sleep is one of the main causes of headaches, but let’s not forget about sleeping too much either. Your body needs around 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to feel rested, depending on your age, schedule, and lifestyle. According to experts, those who sleep more than 9 hours won’t wake up feeling extra rested but rather more tired. They could also have severe headaches, and that’s because oversleeping can affect certain neurotransmitters in your brain, including serotonin.
If you were tired and you slept extra, don’t worry, because you can quickly get rid of the headache. Begin by stretching your neck and head muscles to relieve stress, drink a glass of water, and sip on a warm cup of herbal tea, such as chamomile or ginger. Go for a quick walk, take your time, and be gentle with yourself, and the headache should be gone faster than you imagine.
8. Skipping meals
Another common headache cause is hunger. When your body doesn’t have enough energy and fuel, it will send signals to your organs, and one side effect is a sudden migraine. However, you should pay attention to what you eat because some foods can worsen your migraines.
Some of the foods that can be problematic for your health are those rich in monosodium glutamate, nitrites, nitrates, and yellow food coloring. To make things simpler, you should probably stay away from junk foods that are rich in artificial ingredients, sugar, and flavors.
Experts say that some of the foods that cause headaches are chocolate, cured meats, citrus fruits, dried fruits, aged cheeses, dairy, chilly peppers, smoked fish, yogurt, and even avocados.
If you notice that you have a migraine each time you skip a meal, make sure you have a healthy and nutritious snack with you.
What can you do?
Now that you know what the most popular headache causes are, you should know a few things that will make this situation better. The first step is to identify what triggers the symptoms, but this can be difficult. We recommend you get a journal and note the day, symptoms, time, and all the circumstances that surrounded your migraine, like what you ate, how you slept, what you did, how you felt, etc.
If you tried your best to avoid these triggers and you still have frequent migraines, you should talk to your doctor ASAP. They should run a few tests to see if there’s something else going on, and your diary will help them understand the situation better.
Other than that, make sure you move your body every day, eat healthy and nutritious foods, get the right amount of sleep, try to be as calm as possible, and only drink on special occasions. Don’t forget that headaches are a condition of hypersensitivity, so try to have a balanced lifestyle.
Did you find this article about headache causes helpful? Share your thoughts with us! If you enjoyed reading this article and you’d like to check out something else from Golden Years Bliss, here’s a good post for you: Retire Early Without a High Salary: 4 Achievable Moves
