Follow these Science-backed hacks for keeping headaches away!

Keep a Headache Diary

It’s essential to know your triggers. Keeping note of what you have done or eaten on days when headaches strike can help you avoid them in future. Food triggers can include caffeine, alcohol, cheese, chocolate, gluten and citrus fruits. Other triggers include bright lights and too much time in front of a screen, as well as your menstrual cycle.

Pile on the Pressure

There’s an acupressure point on your shoulder that, when pressed, helps to relax tense muscles and stimulate your vagus nerve.

Place your little finger on the side of your neck and your other fingers along the ridge of your shoulder, with your elbows touching in front of you. Roughly where the middle finger lands is the point you need to stimulate. It will feel tender under your skin.

Drink Plenty

Plenty of water or herbal teas that is! Dehydration is a common trigger for headaches.

Up your Exercise

Working out might be the last thing you feel like doing when you have a headache, but regular exercise can cut the number of headaches you get, especially tension-style headaches. According to the British Association for the Study of Headache, these are more common among sedentary individuals. One study found exercise was more effective than relaxation training or acupuncture.

Eat More Plants

A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that you can prevent migraines by eating a plant-based diet rich in dark, leafy vegetables. Plant-based diets are high in antioxidants, fibre, magnesium, phytonutrients, and anti-inflammatory compounds. These all reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, factors linked to migraine and headache pathways. Try incorporating more leafy vegetables, such as spinach, kale, pak choi, and rocket, into your diet. 

Be Screen Savvy

Spending too much time staring at screens can trigger headaches and eye strain. Follow the 20-20-20 rule. Look away from the screen every 20 minutes to focus on a fixed spot 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Watch your Sugar Intake

Sugar and high-carbohydrate diets can lead to many symptoms, including headaches. Avoid sugary snacks as a pick-me-up and try nuts, seeds, yoghurt, fruit, or veg instead.

Breathe Easy

Try this quick-fix breathing technique to stop a headache in its tracks. Inhale slowly through your nose to the count of four and exhale to the count of six or eight.

Deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, changing your body’s response to adrenaline and other stress hormones that can trigger headaches.

Give Yourself a Head Massage

Step under the shower for a quick, easy head massage to loosen tense head and neck muscles. Another technique is to gently massage the spot just inside your eye socket, next to your nose, in small circles.

Stick to a Routine

Changes to routine often trigger migraines so it can be useful to stick to a timetable that includes regular mealtimes and sufficient sleep. If you anticipate changes to this routine, try to ease your body into it gently to minimise the disruption.

Start to Hum

Humming twice a day can drastically reduce stress levels and risk of headaches, according to a study by Gujarat University in India. They found that people who inhaled for 4 seconds, then exhaled for 6 to 8 seconds while humming, were at their least stressed.

Avoid Bright Lights

These can cause headaches. So too can other environmental factors, such as strong smells (especially cigarette smoke), overly warm or stuffy conditions, and sudden changes in the temperature.

Grind your teeth?

Try a mouthguard. An estimated half of us grind our teeth at night, with headaches or migraines being common symptoms. Wear a guard to stop the grinding and banish the pain. Talk to your dentist about your options.

TRY

SleepRight Dura-Comfort Ready to Wear Teeth Grinding and Clenching Bruxism Guard, £44, Boots.

IS IT A MIGRAINE?

Tension headaches are the most common cause of headache and are triggered by stress, tiredness, or muscle strain, causing generalised pain over your head. But if your pain causes moderate or severe throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head, it’s a migraine.

Migranes include symptoms like nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light which and can negatively affect your life and stop you from carrying out normal daily activities.

The condition affects an estimated 10 million people in the UK, with women three times more likely than men to be affected. There can be a link between migraines and fluctuating oestrogen levels at various times throughout the menstrual cycle.

NEW MIGRAINE HELP

A new drug to help migraine sufferers is now available on the NHS. Rimegepant (brand name Vydura) is a wafer tablet that dissolves under the tongue and helps ease throbbing headaches by blocking the release of proteins that bind to receptors in the brain and cause pain. It’s also available privately — £47.84 for two tablets, LloydsPharmacy.

FIND OUT MORE

The Migraine Trust, 0808 802 0066, migrainetrust.org

References:

https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/plant-based-diet-reduces-migraine-pain

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39408380/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1117740/full

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37193427/