Holiday Headaches

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