What is a headache? A headache is when the blood vessels in the head or around the neck swell up, tighten, or go through some other change that puts pressure on the surrounding nerves. Here's what you can do to reduce headaches.
Ice pack
Place an ice pack on the area of your head that hurts. If you don't have an ice pack, a packet of frozen peas is a great substitute. Lie down in a cool, dark room, place the packet of frozen peas on your pillow and place your head on it. Ice helps contract the blood vessels in your head, providing relief.
Mediation
Simply learning to relax will reduce headaches, especially those aches caused by stress. Just fifteen minutes of meditation a day can cause a world of difference to our stress levels, and improve heart and blood pressure condition, reduce hair loss, and generally affect overall health improvement, since the root cause of numerous ailments including cancer is stress.
Sleep
As soon as you feel a headache coming on, go to sleep for half an hour or an hour in a cool, dark room. You should feel better when you wake up. Often, if you hit the bed in time, your headache may completely evaporate and you will not feel the need for a painkiller. However, if your headache is already bad, it would be better if you take a painkiller before going to sleep, or you may wake up a pounding head.
Diet and Lifestyle
Different remedies work for different people, and any little relief helps, as any headache sufferer knows. There are certain diet and lifestyle changes which also help. Wake up at the same time everyday, and don't let your children lounge around in bed until noon on holidays. Make sure they are up by 9 at the latest on days they don't have school. Too much sleep could cause a headache, and so can too little sleep. Figure out what's ideal for you and your child, and stick to that. Reduce fatty intake and increase fibre intake.
Oxygen
Increase oxygen intake. Exercising regularly will help achieve this, as will taking up yoga. Also, something as simple as sitting up straight and not slouching will increase the flow of oxygen in your system.
Smoking
Smoking and second hand smoke both cause headaches, and should be avoided.
Sun
Avoid stepping out in the sun. If you do so, make sure you wear a cap. Also, make it a point to wear sunglasses. Often it is the glare of sunlight that causes a headache, and not the sun roasting our scalp as we often believe.
Diary
Keep a headache diary and note down when you get a headache, along with what you did that day and what you ate. Before long you will see a pattern emerge. Maybe you ate something sweet, were out in the sun, or over-exercised. You can then work on preventing headaches by avoiding the cause.
Quick fact
Did you know that eating or drinking anything very cold, quickly, especially when your body is heated, could lead to an intense headache? Such headaches are very short lived and are commonly called 'brain freeze'. The headache is caused when the ice cream or cold drink hits the roof of the mouth, chilling a nerve, which chills the brain. If ever this happens, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth to reduce the pain. Making sure your cold drink does not touch the roof of the mouth will also help prevent brain freeze. And remember, the next time you're running around in the heat and a chilled bottle of Pepsi seems very tempting, don't gulp it down at top speed. Drink it slowly, and take small sips. Similarly, don't suck it all up in one quick breath by the straw, especially on a hot day. It will hit your head almost at once.
