Top 7 Ways to Relieve Your Headaches & Migraines Without Medications
Let's Talk About Headaches
Headaches can really ruin your day, and the various types seem do that in different ways: tension headaches, for instance, add stress to stress, making you feel even more worn out than you already were. Migraines, on the other hand, create a pulsating pain in one or more regions of your head and may have you feeling dizzy or even nauseous. The causes of each type may be different for each person. All you know for sure is that you want them to go away. Making headaches go away is exactly what we're going to focus on in this post. Below, we'll focus on the most common types of headaches, which are tension headaches and migraines.
Let's look at tension headaches first.
Tension Headaches
Tension headaches are - as you can probably guess - caused by tension. In other words, they're caused by stress. Your muscles are strained because they've been stuck in "high alert mode" for too long. Believe it or not, drinking water can help to regulate anxiety by reducing the stress hormone cortisol, so first be sure to stay hydrated. Next, though, you'll want to relax the muscles that are causing the problem. Let's look at some ways to do that.
1. Breathing is one thing that gets really thrown out of sorts by stress - we start taking short breaths through our chest, rather than from our diaphragm, a muscle above the belly. If you feel stressed, try to make sure you're breathing from your belly. Your brain and body will get the message - one that says "calm down" - and you'll start to feel less tense. We discussed this is another blog post, so be sure to check that one out.
2. One of the clearest signs you need to let go of tension is if you're clenching your teeth. This muscle contraction can directly cause tension headaches. So, make sure your teeth aren't touching. To relax your jaw, let your tongue fall from the roof of your mouth. Next, let your jaw fall, as if being pushed down by gravity. Let it go as best you can. You may feel a little aching, but that's ok - it means your muscles starting to relax
3. Try visualization. As you continue to breath from your belly and let your jaw relax, close your eyes and, using your imagination, "feel" the back of your neck. Imagine a wave of relaxation is sweeping from the bottom of your neck to the top of your head, sweeping away all the tension from your neck and shoulders with it.
4. On your hand, between your thumb and pointer finger, is a pressure point. It's the chubby part of your hand, about 1/2 inch down from your pointer finger. Use the thumb and pointer finger of your opposite hand to press on this point, thumb on the back of your hand and pointer finger on the front. If you already have a headache, you may notice some pain - that's to be expected. Hold for 30 seconds, and then release. You should feel a bit better, as this method can help in a literal pinch.
5. Yoga and meditation can really help reduce stress and ease muscle tension, so consider trying a class or even just watching some instructional YouTube videos.
6. Chamomile and lavender tea are known for their relaxing qualities. Try drinking a glass of either type once a day.
7. Instead of simply guessing whether or not you're helping your headache, you can try biofeedback. With biofeedback we first monitor your breathing and heart rate, and then place sensors on the area where you're feeling pain (forehead, jaw, neck, shoulders, etc.). On a screen in front of you you'll see a representation of the tension, and from there you can try different things to loosen up. While the headache will take some time to go away, with biofeedback you'll see immediately on the screen whether what you're doing is helping to deal with the source of the problem - muscle tension! You'll have solid evidence that whatever approach you try is having the desire effect.
Next, let's take a look at migraines.
Migraines
Migraines cause intense throbbing pain and, unlike tension headaches, the causes are somewhat mysterious. Genetic factors are believed to be at play here, and leading theories include a problem with blood flow that reduces blood pressure by causing veins to dilate. If you're on this page you're probably already an expert in what migraines feel like, so there's no need to go over any more symptoms! Yes, you might've figured out that caffeine, hot or cold compresses, or low light all help in the moment, but what about more long-term solutions, tricks to help avoid migraines showing up in the first place?
1. One is by taking magnesium and vitamin B12 supplements. These have been shown to prevent migraines
from arising, but be sure to check with your doctor before taking any kind of supplement.
2. Exercise gets blood flowing through the body again, which can be helpful in getting your blood pressure back up to where it needs to be. The American Heart Association recommends at least 2.5 hours of exercise per week.
3. Sleep! Proper sleep is important for overall bodily health, but it's something many people have trouble with. To figure out whether or not you're getting enough deep, restorative sleep, consider investing in a sleep tracker. Avoiding blue light from computers, smartphones, and TV screens before bed is especially important in helping you get to sleep at night. Consistent exercise should help, too, as should meditation or drinking some relaxing chamomile tea. Paradoxically, the best way to fall asleep is to not put too much pressure on yourself to fall asleep - just allow it to come naturally.
4. Neurofeedback can dive right into what's causing your migraines. Your brain can be mapped with what's called a qEEG and, usually, we see clear markers of "problem spots" that are leading to migraines. Those spots aren't getting enough blood flow! With neurofeedback, you'll see a representation of these problem areas and can be trained to increased blood flow to them. This has the effect of reducing your migraines. This may sound a little strange. Science has shown, however, that different types of brain waves promote different levels of blood flow - slow waves produce slow blood flow, while fast waves produce greater blood flow. The "goldilocks" blood flow is brought on by 12-15Hz waves and, using neurofeedback, a person can be trained to bring these on to prevent migraines from occurring at all. Much like going to the gym, this requires regular practice. 3-5 months of neurofeedback training is usually enough to see lifelong changes, but a person will most likely see results within their first month.
5. Neurostimulation can help with migraines, too. Unlike neurofeedback, neurostimulation isn't something a person practices on their own. Rather, it's done to them. Throughout a neurostimulation session you can lay back and relax as the necessary impulses are sent to the parts of your brain that are causing the migraine. You should be feeling much or even completely better within 30 minutes. Neurostimulation works in conjunction with neurofeedback - a neurofeedback session may follow neurostimulation as the patient learns to do on their own what the neuromodulation just accomplished (i.e., get rid of their migraines).
6. Biofeedback can help you learn to breath properly. This is similar to neurofeedback, but with emphasis on bodily self-regulation rather than mental self-regulation. You'll see your breathing and heart rate monitored on a screen in front of you, and see how breathing from your belly brings those to more desirable levels. As we've talked about before, there's a connection between migraines and hand temperature. If hand temperature is high, it means there's blood flowing to it. With biofeedback you can learn to encourage blood flow to your hands by controlling your breathing. The more blood flow to your hands, the better your migraine will get. Practicing regularly can even help to totally prevent them from occurring.
Wrapping Up
Headaches can be a huge pain in the neck, both literally and figuratively. If you have a chronic headache problem, it's best to attack it from multiple directions. This way, you learn not only how to deal with them when they pop up, but also how to prevent them from popping up at all! As you've seen, neurofeedback and biofeedback offer unprecedented insight into the way our bodies work. They'll help you determine exactly what changes you should make in order to defeat your headache problem once and for all.