Well, the holidays are here.
It’s time for busy party schedules filled with platters of aged cheeses
and smoked meats, festive cocktails, desserts and stress. Lots and lots of stress.
Let’s face it, the holidays are a painful time for many
people. For migraine and headache
sufferers, they can be an absolute minefield. Trigger foods take center stage,
stress levels spike and regular sleep patterns are out the window. Even winter weather fluctuations increase
your chances of developing head and neck pain.
But that doesn’t mean you are resigned to a blue holiday
season this year. If you’re vigilant
about your lifestyle habits, there are ways you can help manage your pain.
Here are five healthy habits that should be in every
migraine and headache sufferers toolkit.
1. Keep a headache diary
Migraine
and headache triggers vary widely from person to person, so the best way to
identify your triggers is to keep
a headache diary.
Each time you have a headache, take notes down of anything you can think
of that may have triggered it. Some
triggers can be changes in sleep, skipping meals, over eating, dehydration,
alcohol consumption, and/or stress. Over
time, you will discover patterns in your diary that can help you determine what
you need to avoid. Some trigger foods to
be avoided include aged cheeses, processed meats, peanuts, pickled foods,
alcohol (especially red wine), bread and crackers containing cheese, chicken
livers and other organ meats, potato chips, caffeinated beverages,
and anything with MSG (monosodium glutamate).
2. Consider shopping online
For shopaholics, the days between Black Friday and New
Year’s Day are like the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras rolled into one. But shopping malls and Wal-Mart can be a
trigger wonderland for people with migraines and headaches. If you’re worried a holiday shopping spree
might make your condition worse, you can find everything you need (and then
some) online. This can also save you
time and money because you can do it from home and your gifts can be shipped
directly.
Just walking into the mall to do some holiday shopping can be
a challenge for many people. You are
sprayed with perfume (an odor trigger), surrounded by lots of chaos (a sound
trigger), exposed to fluorescent lights (a bright light trigger) and then may
grab lunch at the food court where foods are often rich in MSG (a food
trigger). These things can all
contribute to how headaches start so try and avoid them.
3. Manage stress
Stress is a major trigger for migraine and headache
sufferers, and the holiday season can cause anxiety levels to skyrocket.
Patients who struggle with holiday headaches should start
thinking about pain prevention early, ideally months before the holidays. Headache sufferers need this extra time to
learn and master the necessary preventive care techniques before the
stress-filled holidays hit. One of the
best and most powerful words you can say that may keep you headache free is
"no." Sometimes when everyone
wants you to eat more, drink more, buy more, and or do more things that only
increase your stress it's ok to say no.
4. Improve your lifestyle
Eating, drinking, sleeping and exercising are all key
players that you need to keep control of during the holidays. If you read the "Fall Challenge" in
the Fall Edition of the Robeson Living magazine you have a great understanding
of how you can benefit from these things.
No matter what else is going on, you should eat regular
meals throughout the day, including lots of green, leafy vegetables and a good
amount of lean protein. And don’t forget
to drink plenty of water. Drinking
sufficient fluids (water), 2 to 3 liters per day, and avoiding caffeine, a
potent migraine trigger, can make a significant difference.
Holiday stress can wreak havoc on good sleep patterns. Don’t let travel or late-night holiday festivities
interfere with your sleep schedule.
Continue to go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the
same time each morning. If you need to
take a nap during the day aim for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Finally, resist the temptation to put your physical activity
routine in the deep freeze once colder temperatures hit. You can reduce migraine frequency and severity
by doing aerobic exercise at least three times a week for 30 to 40 minutes each
session.
The holidays are a very special and stressful time of year,
but you don’t have to accept migraines and headaches as an inevitable “gift” of
the season. If you learn how to avoid
trigger foods and situations, you’ll enjoy a much happier holiday.
5. Explore Chiropractic
Most chronic migraine and headache sufferers have either
heard or read about how chiropractic treatments can help. We have had the pleasure of helping people
get relief from headaches for over 40 years here at Beck and Blackley
Chiropractic Clinic.
Second
only to back pain, headaches are one of the most common conditions regularly
managed by chiropractors. Over 230
peer-reviewed articles reference
chiropractic’s ability to help cure, prevent and ease the burden of headaches
and migraines in people all across the globe.
A group trial found that 22 percent of people who had chiropractic
treatment saw the number of attacks
drop by 90 percent. In that same
study, 49
percent said they had a
significant reduction in pain intensity.
Compared to most medical treatments, few interventions can initiate headache relief like chiropractic adjustments can.
The holiday season is here and we
hope that these tips can help everyone have a stress and pain- free time of
year. If you have any questions stop by
one of our two offices for a free consultation with one of our doctors.
Dr. Ryan N. Beck DC, QN
