How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Prevent Your Headaches

Lifestyle changes in relation to headaches can really impact your recovery from pain. We all have stress you say..but the big question is how do you handle it? Do you fuss and fume? Or do you tend to push it down and not have a healthy outlet for your stress.

Many times I will ask a headache patient: What do you do for fun, to relieve stress?

I get a blank stare in return.

Recognize that stress plays a big role in your health, because until you do, your headaches won't change much. Making lifestyle changes can go a long way in headache prevention.

By this I mean are you going to live the same headache lifestyle or make some changes?

Self Evaluation Questions

• Do I work more hours than necessary?
• Is my home life stable and if not, why?
• Do I realllyyy exercise three times a week for 1/2 hour? (and sweat?)
• Is my diet full of processed foods, chemicals and little water?
• Am I always looking for a quick cure for my problems in life?
• Am I open to new ideas and thoughts about treatment?
• Do I have what they call "an addictive personality"? (smoking, drinking, over use or abuse of drugs?)

Headache Prevention Recommendations:

• Sleep:

To prevent headaches, go to bed and get up the same time every day. Even the weekends! No over sleeping, keep work out of the bedroom and TV's too. Give this at least six months to re-establish the brains' natural cycle.

If you tend to wake up several times during the night, you are just like so many other headache sufferers. I recommend a low dose (5-10mg) of Elavil an hour before bed. To help with sleep, I recommend (and have one myself) the Mediflow water pillow for neck support. and also recommend melatonin to many of my patients. This is a natural supplement to help you sleep. You can get a free 21 day supply of Melatrol (melatonin) here.

Read about the effects of sleep apnea on headaches.

• Reduce Your Stress:

Get away from the stressor. Of all the lifestyle changes, this one is the biggest as it is the most common cause of headache.Take a class on coping skills. If you are having trouble with coping, find a counselor, minister or someone to talk to about your problems. This goes a long way in reducing stress. If you put yourself first, you may begin to slow down a bit, handle stress better and MAYBE...less headaches! I know this may sound trivial but it really it true. Those who handle stress better, learn to slow down and enjoy life, overall they have less headaches.

Deal with stress in a healthy way. Adopt stress relief and relaxation techniques that promote mental, emotional and physical well being.

• Effects of Depression on Headaches

• Exercise

There has been some news in research lately about obesity in connection with migraine. Although being overweight is not associated with more migraines, gaining weight is associated with an increase in headaches.

Read about the connection between obesity and headache.

• Don't Skip Meals

• Stop Smoking

If you cut your smoking at least in half, as a lifestyle change, you can reduce your headaches.

• Caffeine

See how you can make a difference? Less caffeine, less headaches. If you have severe headaches, then you should not have more than one caffeinated drink per day.

And Red Bulls DO count. They are off the list..period.

Figure out your caffeine intake.

• Food Triggers

Last but not least, don't forget that dehydration or lack of fluids can cause a headache. Most of the time this will then precipitate a migraine, so drink plenty of water daily, especially in the summer months. Additional migraine triggers.

In other words, be proactive! Participate in your own care as supplements and drugs alone just might not do the job.

I can only tell you that the patients who pay attention to this advice do much better than those who do not. Lifestyle changes for your migraines really can be effective.

Learn about relaxation techniques from Relaxing Tranquility Moments.