Headaches are quite common and they affect virtually everyone. Whether they are mild or severe, they can affect your health, work, and quality time with friends and family. Sometimes, they occur because of stress, fatigue while other times, the triggers are beyond our knowledge. Luckily, there are some remedies you can try on your own. Let us look at proven natural ways that can help.
Acknowledge the pain
The first step of dealing with headaches is acknowledging the pain. It is impossible to solve a problem if you do not know the genesis. Migraines and general headaches hurt. Sadly, ignoring the pain and being mad or frustrated about it does not help. Think about it; once you know what causes the headache, i.e., stress, general exhaustion, it becomes easy to take care of it.
Try a cold pack of ice
Perhaps you are wondering how ice cubes help with migraines. Well, you should know that ice cubes are not meant solemnly for kitchen use. Ice cubes are often used as the ‘go-to remedy for sensation and pain, thus explaining why it is effective. In fact, it is believed that placing a cold pack on your forehead causes a numbing effect, which helps dull the sensation of pain. Let me explain how it works. The cold constricts blood vessels and helps reduce the neurotransmission of pain to the brain.
How to use a cold pack:
- Establish the part that you are experiencing the pain.
- Take a towel wrapped with ice cubes and place it over your head.
- Leave the pack for 15-20minutes at a time.
Drink lots of water
According to research, when the body is dehydrated, the brain can temporarily contract or shrink from fluid loss, causing the brain to pull away from the skull. The dehydration causes pain which leads to a headache. It could be that you are dehydrated. Drink water to re-hydrate. Rehydrating allows the brain to plump up and return to its normal state, relieving the headache. You can look at these real-life ways that can help you up to your water intake. It will help you stay hydrated at all times as a natural remedy to common headaches.
Practice relaxation
Sometimes the solution to your headache could be a 5-min stretch or yoga. Most of us juggle a lot; unfortunately, we fail to acknowledge that the many life activities or events take a toll on our bodies. Stress is a common trigger of tension-type headaches and others. If you didn’t know, the muscle contraction is mostly a response to stress, depression, anxiety, etc. This means that every time you fail to handle a stressful event in your day or anxiety, you might end up with an headache. Therefore, it is vital that you practice relaxation and other stress management techniques to manage your life better. Below are ways that can help
- Try relaxation exercises.
- Mental imagery relaxation – To help create harmony between the mind and the body
- Meditation
- Yoga
Have some herbal tea
A bad headache not only ruins your day but also saps your energy. Luckily, you don’t need to use medication every time you experience one. Sometimes, all you need is a cup of your favorite herbal tea to get back to normal. While tea might not cure all your symptoms, it can help provide comfort and relief. A good example is Ginger tea, known for major health benefits, including headache treatment. When you are dealing with anxiety and stress, you can try the powerhouse chamomile tea for relaxation. Other teas to try are; peppermint, green and clove tea.
Get enough sleep
Another natural way of dealing with the problem is taking a nap and generally having enough sleep. There are some triggers that may lead to headaches, and sleep problems are among the most common ones. Experts recommend that you should try to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Getting enough sleep allows your body to rest and function properly.
Other benefits of sleep include;
- Improves your attention and concentration
- It keeps your heart healthy
- Keep your immune system strong
- Reduce stress levels.
Turn down the lights
Did you know that bright or flickering light from your phone or computer can cause migraines? While it might not affect everyone, a large group of people suffers from this. That is why it is important that you dim your lights to create a dark or dimly lit ambiance. You can cover your windows with blackout curtains during the day; when going outside, you can try to put on sunglasses, and invest in daylight spectrum fluorescent bulbs as your light fixtures. Adding anti-glare screens to your computers will also come in handy.
Avoid pressure on your head
Anything that exerts pressure on your head is not good. Wearing your hair too tight, using tight headbands, hats, or exercise gears that are too tight causes what is known as external compression headaches. They result from pressure on pain receptors, or pain fibers that transmit sensation from the face to the brain or on nerves in the back of the head. The solution is quite simple; remove the external gears or garments, especially when you don’t need them.
Some caffeine?
We began the discussion by noting that it is important that you understand what causes your headache. Once you know, it becomes easy to manage. For instance, if you are used to drinking tea or coffee every morning, skipping that might trigger the issue. Try to maintain your routine, but do not over-use caffeine. Caffeine tends to relax the blood vessels, which may support circulation and ease tension.
Wrapping up
As you have seen, there are many natural ways of dealing with common headaches. However, if you find yourself trying these methods and continue to experience severe pain, dizziness, or confusion, you might want to seek medical help. Speak to a headache specialist for help treating those persistent ones.
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