Hacking headaches in to history
30 August 2006or how to get rid of headaches for good
I used to, and from time to time I must admit still do, get awful migraines. Migraines that would land me in bed for days at a time, lights off, TV off, eyes covered by the blankets when they aren’t buried in the pillow trying to block out the last bits of light that somehow manage to creep in. I finally got fed up, and started keeping a life journal (which I’ll cover in a future article) to try to figure out what exactly was causing these terrible headaches. The following is what I’ve found:
Caffeine: This one is pretty obvious. I put it first, not because I found it the most prevalent, but because I wanted to get it out of the way. To be honest, the only time I really saw a link between caffeine and my headaches was when I drank incredible quantities of coffee. I’m talking like 10+ cups inside of a 5-6 hours period. In addition to that, I actually found that a cup of coffee with an Advil helps me get rid of my headache faster. Beware of trying that yourself, I’m unsure of whether or not its safe.
Nutrasweet: My. God. This stuff is pure, granulated Satan dust. I don’t have to drink half a can of Diet Coke before I will nearly instantly have a raging headache. Oh, and it may cause brain tumors too.
Too much fat: I know, it’s odd. I’m not sure there is any scientific evidence to link fats and headaches, perhaps this is a break-through. I have noticed a definite and profound link between my eating excessive amounts of fatty foods, and getting a headache. By “profound” I’m talking somewhere in between 99% and 100% of the time, when I’ve had more than 2 servings of something excessively fatty in one sitting, I will end up with a migraine.
Too much computer/TV usage: This is another no-surprise. In days where I spend more than 5-6 hours working on the computer, or my TV usage and computer usage combines to equal about that, I tend to have about a 60% chance of ending my day with a headache.
Too much reading: Similar to the aforementioned. I have had my eyes checked, no problems there, but still excessive reading can really bring them on for me. Especially, I’ve found, reading long magazine articles. Again, I have no idea why that would be, perhaps the glossy paper?
Improper lifting: This is an odd one, and its going to be hard to explain. For some reason I have a tendency to hold my breath when I lift something heavy, and I can feel the pressure hit the back of my head as I do it. Nine out of ten times I’ll instantly bring on a nice migraine for myself.
Too much sleep: This one actually caused me so much trouble, I keep an alarm clock set every night, even if I have nowhere to be. Any more than 9 hours of sleep in one block and I am guaranteed to have myself a headache.
Too little sleep: This title is misleading, its not too little sleep that causes me problems, its too many blocks of small amounts of sleep. Basically when I’m woke up several times throughout the night, and afterwards I keep going back to sleep, after the third or fourth time I’ll have myself a massive migraine.
Improper sleeping position: I used to be a 3-pillow guy. That’s just how I was. Then on a whim I decided to attempt cutting back to 1, and seeing if there was any affect on my headaches. There was. It wasn’t a huge change, but it reduced my overall headache-getting by about 20%, which is more than enough motivation for me. Also: For some reason, I bought this memory-foam pillow. I kept it on my couch and would fall asleep on it from time to time. A quick check of the journal shows me that in 100% of the instances where I did, the next day I got a migraine. Just a tip to look out for.
Air conditioning: The worst headache I remember having was entirely my own stupid fault. I’m quite sure none of my readers are stupid enough to duplicate this, but I figured I’d share the story anyway. I was hot one day, and I have a window-unit air conditioner next to my bed. I decided to move my bed, and line up the vents, so that’d I’d have the cold air blowing directly on me throughout the night. Terrible. Idea. The next morning I didn’t even know who I was, I woke up and thought someone had dropped a brick on my head. It took literally 3 days for the headache to finally back off.
These tips worked for me, they may work for you, they may not. I know when I was in the midst of my headaches, I would have tried practically anything. None of these tips are dangerous, or hazardous to your health, so if you’re suffering why not give them a try? Feel free to post a comment or drop me an email if this article is of any help to you.
Note: I know I said this article would tell you “how to get rid of headaches for good”, and right off the bat I said I still get them. Well, I used to get 2-3 a week, now I get approximately 1 every month. For any normal headache-getter, the aforementioned tips will likely do the trick entirely.
Did my post help you? Buy me a coffee?
How to get rid of a caffeine headache
5 Ideas For Your Mediocre Ideas
Car hacks (Part 1) Maintenance
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September 1st, 2006 at 5:42 am
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