Tps to avoid headaches and migraines

Tips to Avoid Headaches & Migraines

 by Nicky Webber of Healthscripts


Nearly everyone gets them but is poor health or diet the cause of them or is the headache a result of having a nutritional or hormonal imbalance? If you suffer with blinding headaches you already know the answer is not that simple.

A new nationwide health study looking at the risk factors associated with headaches among teenagers was carried out in Norway among 5,857 teens between 13 and 18 years old.

With some of the unhealthy habits undertaken by teens, like drugs, drinking and smoking, is it more likely they will suffer more migraines than other types of headaches?

After trawling through all the data the researchers founds some common factors.  Being overweight, failing to get regular exercise, and smoking were all associated with having more headaches.

Specifically, they found that smoking was associated with an 80% increase in migraines; being overweight was associated with a 60% increase in migraines; and failing to exercise at least twice a week was linked to a 50% increase in migraines. All three unhealthy behaviors were also linked to elevated rates of tension headaches and other headaches, according to a study published online by the journal Neurology.

It was no real surprise to note the more unhealthy a teen’s lifestyle the more headaches they reported. For instance, an overweight teen who smokes and rarely exercises is 3 to 4 times more likely to have recurrent headaches than a nonsmoking teen who exercised and maintained a healthy weight. So it stands to reason that this common sense logic could be transferred across to us all. Next time you get a headache think about what you’ve eaten, drunk and how much sleep or stress you’re handling – those factors alone may explain the pain between the eyes! Getting your blood circulating with regular exercise – even a brisk 30 minute walk will make all the difference. Make sure you keep your fluid intake up too (the water kind!) as when stressed and busy in an air-conditioned office you can quickly become dehydrated, triggering a headache too.

This study couldn’t answer the fundamental question of whether frequent headaches are a cause or a consequence of an unhealthy lifestyle. For instance, it’s impossible to exercise with a migraine, and some patients say that exercise triggers the attacks. However, doctors believe that regular exercise helps keep migraines at bay.

Likewise, obesity has been shown to increase the risk of having headaches, perhaps because it promotes inflammation in the blood vessels in the head. On the other hand, people who get a lot of headaches have fewer chances to exercise, and that could lead to weight gain.

The only way to unravel the cause-and-effect here is to conduct more studies, the researchers said. But in the meantime this study suggests strong evidence that we could all reduce our risk of headache by adopting healthier habits – especially those teenagers!

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