No medication required!
1. Address your nightly teeth-grinding habit
One of the most under-discussed causes of headaches is jaw tension and tooth grinding. Tooth grinding places tension on the tiny muscles that control your jaw and these muscles are around the side of your head and around your temples. The condition, known as bruxism can be helped by practicing relaxation techniques before bed, as stress maybe a contributing factor to nighttime grinding. If the condition is severe, speak to your dentist who can prescribe you with a specially made mouthguard such as the F.O.S. solution
2. Drink some water
A telltale sign of dehydration is a pounding head. Studies show that drinking more water can help with headaches and migraines. If you feel a head tension coming on and you haven’t refilled your glass in a while, you might want to make that a priority. Watch the caffeine intake also as it’s a diuretic. For every cup of coffee you drink, you need to drink a few cups of water or you’re dehydrating your body.
3. Try a massage
If you’re feeling a little tense, this could be contributing to your headaches. Whilst there are limited clinical trials to show that massages treat headaches, it has been seen that “massage seems to help” quite simply because the mechanism behind the use of massages in tension headaches is that it increases blood flow to the affected areas, mostly to the neck, back of the head, and shoulders
4. Have a stretch
The same logic for massages also applies to activities like yoga, physical therapy and Pilates, which can reduce the muscle tension component of headaches.
5. Try a stress-reducing activity
Stress management techniques are an excellent way to help prevent and relieve headaches. For example, try watching a funny movie or engaging in some deep breathing exercises. Yoga is often considered the perfect stress busting activity as it combines physical poses that strengthen and stretch muscles with deep breathing, meditation and relaxation.
6. Give botox a shot?
Botox has gained popularity recently as a specific relief method for chronic migraines. Having a shot of botox around the head and upper shoulders every three months has helped thousands of patients to an extraordinary degree.
7. Get active
The last thing you might feel like doing when you have a headache is reach for your gym gear. However, experts note that regular exercise ― i.e., 20 to 30 minutes of low-impact cardio three to four times a week ― can help to reduce headaches. Exercise gets the blood flowing and improves your overall cardiovascular and cognitive function
8. Get good night’s sleep.. but not too much
Unbelievably, oversleeping, especially while trying to catch up on sleep during the weekends ― can have a negative health impact and can actually cause headaches. A regular seven to eight hours of sleep every night could help reduce headache frequencies.
9. Give your eyes a break
Many headaches can often be attributed to vision problems. It’s quite common to feel headaches after overdoing it with reading, watching television or even focusing while driving long distances. Try taking frequent computer breaks, or if you are reading, stop every so often and focus on something in the room to give your eyes a reprieve. If that doesn’t work, you may need your eyes checked.
10. Consider acupuncture
According to The American Migraine Foundation there is evidence that acupuncture reduces the frequency of headache in individuals with migraine, and that the effect may be similar to that observed with preventative medications.
