The bad news: good food, flowers, hot weather, even colleagues and, moreover, the boss can cause headaches. The good news: knowing these reasons, the risk of an attack can be reduced to zero.
Stressful Job Causes Migraine
Anything that increases the level of stress can cause tension headaches or migraine. Tension headache is associated with the increased sensitivity of nerve pathways in the brain, which transfer pain. Migraine causes the release of chemicals which dilate blood vessels and even trigger inflammatory reactions. This is manifested in a case of migraine.
Hot Weather and Headache
Statistical studies have shown that headaches happen more often in hot weather. With the increase of temperature for 5 degrees the risk of headaches increases for 7,5%. Low pressure which usually precedes rain also provokes tension headache.
Smells and Headache
A strong odor – even enjoyable – can cause a migraine attack. Why this is happening is not clear. Smells might stimulate the nervous system. Most often, paint, perfume and some flowers become the source of a dangerous smell.
How Physical Activity Leads to Headache
Intense exercise – aerobic, strength exercises, and even sex – can lead to headaches. Physical efforts make the vessels of the head and neck “inflate”. This creates additional pressure and headaches.
Poor Posture Habits Cause Headache
Straining exercises in the gym are not necessary to get a headache. Drooping shoulders and a bad back of the seat which provides no support for the back, too low or high monitor or the habit of holding the phone between the ear and shoulder – all this also contributes to tension headaches.
Eating Cheese Provokes Migraine
Brie, cheddar, feta, parmesan, mozzarella, Swiss … Cheese contains a substance called tyramine which provokes headache (here we are talking merely about migraine attacks). The older the cheese is, the more tyramine it has, and the higher the risk is.
Red Wine Increases Headache
Tyramine is also found in red wine and some other alcoholic beverages. Moreover, alcohol makes the blood flow to the head, and it can exacerbate the pain.
Eating Meat Cuts May End up with Headache
Delicious meat cuts also contain tyramine, although in smaller quantity. In addition to tyramine, they may contain synthetic food additives, nitrates or nitrites (for color, preservation, etc.) that may cause the flow of blood to the head among some people. This pain is usually felt on both sides of the head. Whereas in the classical case of migraine headache is felt on one side.
Hunger Causes Headache
If you have missed lunch or dinner, headache can torture you even before you feel hungry. However, it is risky to get rid of the pain with the help of chocolates or cookies – the sweets will cause a sharp rise in blood sugar, and then even a more steep decline, i.e. even a more acute sense of hunger.
Second-Hand Smoking and Headache
Smoking is a well-known provocateur of headache. Not the headache of the smoker himself, but rather of those around him. Nicotine constricts blood vessels, including the brain, which can also cause pain.
Too Much Coffee Leads to Headache
For people suffering from headache, coffee is often included in the category “cannot live without it … and cannot live with it either”. In moderate amount, caffeine is even useful. It is known that it is a part of some medicines for headache. But if you drink it cup after cup, it produces the opposite effect. However, when the coffee lover suddenly decides to give up coffee, it may become a reason for a new headache. One should return to the optimal healthy dose very carefully and gradually.
Headache Relief Tips
If the headaches happen very often, it is necessary to find out the reasons. And for that, one should make a kind of a diary and record when and under what circumstances the headache appeared, what food was eaten at that time. Massage, stretching, healthy eating and proper rest are very helpful to get rid of headache. One should not take too much medicine for headache. If the pain is strong and appears regularly, one must see a doctor. Any pain is a signal that it is necessary to change something!
Source of the image: Photl.
