Are Your Stress Headaches Getting You Down?

Do you frequently get headaches for seemingly no reason? They may not be incapacitating migraine headaches, but common, nagging, stress headaches that slow you down, fog your thinking and generally ruin your day? You may have gotten into the habit of popping an aspirin to take care of the symptoms without taking time to address the cause of your constant headaches–stress.

There are typically three reasons that we may suffer from stress headaches:

Stress and Tension – It may sounds obvious, but many people don’t realize that their headaches are caused by stress.  Stress, when not dealt with, very often accumulates like dust on a coffee table, and sooner or later overflows causing troublesome physical symptoms. Constant tension in your neck, shoulders and back muscles mean a throbbing stress headache can’t be far away.

Ever wonder why stress causes chronic headaches? The pain is actually caused by decreased blood flow to your head caused by the constricting of blood vessels. However, the real root of the problem is stress. Want to stop the tension headaches? You must take time to relax and decompress each day.

If you experience workplace stress, get away from your desk for at least 30 minutes each day and take a break. Try your best not to bring your work home with you. Allow for twenty minutes of “wind down” time after work. Settle into a comfy chair or couch and put a cool gel pack or rag over your eyes, breath deeply and take your thoughts somewhere…anywhere else besides your job, the problems of your day or the never-ending to-do-list. Use this time to pray or meditate, if you prefer, so that you’re able to transition over to a nice dinner, family time and finally, a good night’s rest. All of these things will help reduce stress levels that encourage stress headaches.

Insomnia – You simply have to have a good night’s sleep consisting of at least 7 hours of sleep, and preferably 8 hours. Our bodies require enough restful sleep to repair itself and prepare for the coming day’s activities and challenges. Otherwise, you’re much more prone to chronic headaches. If you have chronic insomnia, see your doctor to identify the reason for your sleep problem. Try to avoid self-medicating with prescription or over the counter sleep aids. This will only temporarily “band-aid” the real problem.

Undiagnosed Medical Condition – Stress headaches may also be the way your body it telling you to get a medical check-up.  Pay attention to frequent headaches and listen to your body. It’s desperately trying to tell you something.

Smoking, illegal drugs and alcohol can also be the cause of frequent headaches. Respect your body–it doesn’t perform well when treated with such disregard. Fad diets along with highly restrictive diets may also throw your body out of balance so much that you start to get chronic headaches.

Listen closely to your body, take action and your stress headaches will soon be a thing of the past.