6 Easy Tips You Can Do to Prevent Headaches

Headache pain is often brought on by stress, chemical imbalances, or sensitivity to sound, lighting, or smells. To overcome this type of nagging discomfort, you need to make some modifications.

Preventing a headache is not about popping a couple aspirin. It involves learning the triggers for the pain and avoiding activities or behaviors that cause a throbbing or unrelenting headache.

So, how should you begin? Read the following information to get a clue on how to stay healthier and prevent headaches. Use the following tips to prevent headaches and stay healthier and pain-free.

What causes headache pain?

Before you read the tips below, it helps to know a little about headache pain and how it develops. Neurologists categorize headaches as primary headaches and secondary headaches. Primary headaches are headaches that result from stress, the environment, and sensitivity to smells, lights, or sounds. Knowing about these triggers will help you prevent a headache from happening.

Secondary headaches are headaches that develop from an underlying medical condition. For example, you may have suffered a concussion or whiplash. If you’re plagued with headaches, the injury may have affected your nerves and therefore your resilience to pain.

To prevent regular headache or migraine pain, again, you’ll need to know what activities or circumstances break down your immunity. For instance, some women may experience a pounding migraine if they’re exposed to a noxious odor. Others may get a headache from lighting that is too bright. If you attend a concert or sporting event, you may suffer head pain as well.

1. Figure Out What is Causing Your Headaches

Everyone is different and headaches take on different forms too. That is why it’s helpful to know what causes the pain so you can take measures to prevent it. One of the most debilitating types of headache pain is migraine pain or the pain experienced from a tension headache.

Either type of headache can disrupt your day and keep you from enjoying regular activities. Some of the things that can lead to severe head pain include emotional stress, the menstrual cycle, skipping a meal, changes in the weather, or irregular sleeping patterns. Some people who over-exercise and others who smoke regularly suffer from headaches as well.

Maintain a Headache Journal

To determine what is causing your head pain, you may want to keep a journal. Doing so will help you see what you were doing before your head started aching.

For instance, maybe you work out at the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You notice, on those days, that you often suffer a headache - not before exercise but after a workout session. In this case, you might ask the following:

• Am I overdoing it whenever I exercise? If so, how can I modify my workout routine?
• Am I getting enough nutrients before and after a workout?
• Am I possibly suffering from dehydration (another precursor of head pain)
• Am I too rushed on the days I exercise?

Ask these questions to see what, exactly, you’re doing or not doing that is giving you problems. You may need to set aside more time for exercise or rehydrate after your workout session.

2. Review What You’re Eating and Drinking Each Day

It also helps to record what you’re eating or drinking each day. Do you notice, on some days, you’re headache-free? If so, review what you ate and what you drank.

Some foods produce headache pain. For example, foods or drinks that lead to a headache may include processed meats, chocolate, and alcohol. Also, look at the additives in some of the foods or beverages you consume. Ingredients, such as monosodium glutamate and aspartame, can cause your head to hurt.

Some people’s heads will hurt too if they stop drinking coffee or they don’t get their coffee fixed each day. If you notice your head hurts when you skip your morning brew, you’re probably experiencing a caffeine withdrawal. Other people get headaches when they are not drinking enough water. It’s really important to stay hydrated to help prevent triggering a headache.  

Other headache sufferers are surprised to find out that they’re headache is triggered from foods, such as potato chips, peanuts, nuts, chicken livers, smoked fish, pickled foods (such as sauerkraut or pickles), certain breads, beans, avocados, or garlic. Even donuts and cakes can lead to a headache.

3. Review Treatments for Headaches

It helps, as well, to review headache treatments. Some people take too much pain medication for ongoing headaches and end up experiencing rebound headaches. Therefore, you should consult with a neurologist who can recommend the right treatment path for you. The good news is there are a lot of great treatment options available today.

There are natural treatments you should try as well. For example, if you experience tension headaches, you often can reduce the symptoms by walking. Drop what you’re doing and get outside in the fresh air. The pain associated with a tension headache will not get worse if you exercise. Breathing in fresh air cleans out your lungs and removes the toxins you may have breathed that led your head to hurt.

If you experience a migraine, make sure you receive a faster recovery by turning down lights and lying down using a cool compress on the headache site.

4. Consider Alternative Therapies and Supplements

Some natural supplements prevent headaches. For example, these products include magnesium glycinate and coenzyme Q10. If you suffer from migraines, a supplement, such as coenzyme Q10, has been shown, through research, to offer an effective way to prevent head pain. If you do consider supplementation, speak to your doctor first to ensure the supplements won’t interfere with what you may be taking medicinally and that you take an appropriate dosage.

5. Practice Meditation and Deep Breathing

Taking time to meditate each day or practicing deep breathing are two activities that calm people who are under stress or experience anxiety. Devote time in your day to experience a little peacefulness. Not only will it rejuvenate you, it will prevent you from developing headache pain.

6. Balance Things Out in Your Life

How’s your work-life balance? How much time do you spend on work and how much time do you devote to family activities? Sometimes, headaches develop because you’re spending too much time on work and not enough time with friends or loved ones.

Slow Down and Take It Easier

Use the above suggestions to prevent headache pain, balance your time, and live a healthier, more fulfilled life. If you have recurring headaches or have suffered from a specific injury, you’ll need to see a neurologist find out the exact cause of your pain.