7 Headache Triggers You Should Know About
I’m sharing #Advil in my life as part of an Advil® sponsored series for Socialstars™
Believe it or not, I went the first half of my life never experiencing a headache. I would often hear people talking about their headaches and remember asking them, what it felt like exactly to have one. As I have gotten older, that has surely changed, and now I have headaches almost every week.
As much as I like being part of the in-crowd, I have to admit that this is one I’d rather not be included. Headaches stomp your creativity, make you irritable, and just suck overall. It perplexes me that I went so long without experiencing a single headache, and now I get them frequently.What gives?
As it turns out, there are several self-sabotaging things you could be doing every day that can contribute to frequent headaches. Check out my list below of the possible culprits.
1. Your Work Environment
The work environment being a cause of headaches may be a no-brainer, but stress does lead to headaches. If you start stressing out at work, you may just trigger a headache, so take a deep breath and try to relax a little. Since stress increases muscle tension, it means pressure in your brain too.
2. Dehydration
Did you know that if you feel thirsty, you are already severely dehydrated? Not drinking enough water is an easy way to get a headache. Drink your eight glasses a day and quit fooling around! Or if that proves to be a bit taxing, I know it is for me, I just eat watermelon or other fruits to get more water in during the day and extra nutrients of course.
3. Skipping meals
Your brain needs food to function just as it needs water. If you skipped lunch, I am not surprised if you are feeling that headache right about… now. Even if you do not have time to take a full lunch, try to get a few healthy snacks in like almonds, fruit or greek yogurt.
4. Too much caffeine
I love my coffee in the morning! But if you have those after coffee jitters, chances are a headache could soon follow after. Watch your caffeine intake if headaches are a major problem. A little caffeine can actually help with headaches, but when you have too much, it can turn into a headache trigger. Crazy right? But its the world we live in I guess.
5. Inactivity
Not getting enough exercise can also lead to a massive headache. We have natural stress relievers in our body when we exercise, so it’s nice to get at least 20-30 minutes of cardio exercise in per day. That way we are preventing the headache, relieving stress and getting our endorphins going to make us feel even better.
6. Not enough sleep
Getting enough sleep is a tough one for me. If your sleep has been poor lately, you are also, you guessed it, more likely to get a headache. Getting enough sleep means you are giving your body and your brain adequate recovery time. And when your brain does not get enough recovery time, it starts kicking and screaming, aka your headache.
7. It’s Something You Ate
Your diet could also be causing you grief in regards to headaches. Here are a few foods that can cause headaches:
- Red wine
- beer
- MSG
- chocolate
- aged cheese
- sour kraut
- processed meats like pepperoni, ham, and salami to name a few
How to solve it?
Once I learned about these triggers above, I realized that I have been guilty of them all at one point or another. I will try to watch what I eat, get more sleep and drink enough water. But when my day gets ramped up, it’s hard to make sure I am doing everything I should be doing to prevent the headaches.
When a headache does come, however, I am glad to know that Advil film-coated is right in the medicine cabinet when I need to keep going. I have had some days where a headache could mean the difference between me having a productive day and a non-productive day.
The new Advil film-coated tablets go to work in minutes to stop pain before it gets worse. Fast acting Advil® Film-Coated tablets has a Rapid Release Formula that dissolves quickly and absorbs fast. In fact, nothing is proven to work faster.*
I have often felt the urge just to get in bed and let a headache pass when they get terrible. But thanks to Advil, I can keep on with my day, without an issue. Because nobody has time for that, amirite?!
It’s important to stay aware of what causes headaches but also important to know what to do when you get them. Because when they are bad, they can keep you off your game and hold you back from accomplishing your goals. Now that you know, make sure to get your own Advil® Film-Coated Tablets to be ready when your next headache comes your way.
*Among OTC pain relievers.
Sources:
11 surprising headache triggers
Headache and Stress
