5 Don'ts when experiencing a HEADACHES/MIGRAINES.

5 things NOT to do for your headaches and migraines

After consulting with thousands of migraine sufferers we have learnt a few things about what NOT TO DO for headaches and migraines.   These 5 things might be simple and obvious to some, or maybe not, but it's important to understand that they can have a significant impact on you and your migraines. 

We know that the underlying cause of migraines is brainstem hypersensitivity, so anything that adds to the brainstem being sensitised is going to increase your risk of a migraine.  It all adds up, a little here and a little there and before you know it you have a migraine coming on.  That’s why it can be tricky to figure it out by yourself as most people are looking for the ONE thing that will help.  That being said, these 5 things are best avoided if you suffer from migriane.  

1. Don't sleep on your stomach - when you sleep on your stomach you have to rotate your head to one side which puts a  great amount of strain through your neck and can actually increase your headaches and migraines.

Sleeping on your back or side is a much better and allows a neutral position for your neck to be in while sleeping.  Having the correct pillow will allow you to comfortably sleep on your back or side.  We recommend the “Complete Sleeprrr” pillow that we can customise for your body type at no added cost.

2. Don't eat lots of processed foods. Processed foods can be high in sugars, saturated fats and msg, which can all be triggers for migraine and headache sufferers. Although there will be cravings to eat lots of junk food while experiencing an episode, it is much better to be eating healthy.  Following a whole-food, nutrient-dense diet as much as possible has been shown to reduce migraine severity and frequency.  

3. Don't spend too much time looking at screens - overstimulation of lots of senses at the same time can overload the brain with information coming in from the eyes and ears, and further exacerbate the symptoms. Getting out into a quiet area with some fresh air can be a great alternative and may help symptoms to decrease, as well as decrease your stress response. Regularly practising mindfulness and mediation is a great way to bring the hyperstimulation of the brain.  

4. Avoiding any sustained postures that can put your neck at strain - when stuck in awkward positions such as slouching or looking down for long periods of time, the muscles in the upper part of your neck that cause the headaches and migraines can become exacerbated. By maintaining a good posture with your head up and looking straight ahead this can help decrease symptoms. 

5. Don't ignore your symptoms.  Your body produces symptoms such as pain to force you to change what you are doing.   Listening to your body and it’s symptoms can help lead you to the underlying cause of your headaches and migraines.    For example, it is common to have gut issues or food intolerances alongside your migraines.  These are unlikely to be separate conditions.  Your gut and brain are intimately connected and influence each other.  It just may be the case that your migraines are secondary to your gut / diet issue, so if you fix your gut, you fix your migraines (often migraine sufferers have a few things going on that all need to be treated to get great results).

The great news is that we know more about migraines than ever before, and we are seeing more and more people put migraines behind them for good.  If you would like to discuss any of the points above or would like to know how they are affecting the symptoms of your headaches and migraines, get in touch with one of our team here.