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Important Lifestyle Tips to Reduce Migraines
Headaches and migraines can be caused due to a number of reasons. However, making a few lifestyle changes to manage migraines could be beneficial in some cases. Listed below are some lifestyle changes to manage migraines that you could consider making.
- Avoiding certain foods and beverages – You could be aware that certain foods and beverages such as aged cheeses and chocolate could trigger a migraine. Therefore, knowing your trigger foods and avoiding them could help prevent migraines. Beverages such as coffee and alcohol, especially wine, can also result in headaches and migraines. Excessive consumption of alcohol could result in hangovers and headaches. Keeping a diary to track your trigger foods could help you to avoid them.
- Diet – In addition to avoiding trigger foods, you should eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Ensure that you do not remain hungry for long periods of time, as hunger can trigger or worsen a migraine. Hence, avoid skipping meals or excessive fasting.
- Follow a sleep schedule – Another well-known trigger of migraines is not getting enough sleep. Sleep is essential for good mental health as it helps prevent depression and anxiety, making one feel relaxed. Hence, following a sleep schedule is one of the lifestyle changes to manage migraines. Try going to bed and wake-up at the same time every day. You should try to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep. Sleeping for more than eight hours can also result in headaches.
- Stress – A common factor for many health conditions; stress can also trigger tension headaches and disrupt sleep. However, avoiding or preventing stress is most often not possible. Therefore, it is essential to find ways to manage stress effectively. Yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises are lifestyle changes to manage migraines that should be practiced daily.
- Good posture – If you work hunched over a computer all day, it could cause a strain on the muscles of the neck and shoulders, resulting in a headache or migraine. By ensuring that you sit properly with your spine straight and taking regular breaks, you can prevent the occurrence of headaches and migraines. Hence, checking and correcting your posture is one of the essential lifestyle changes to manage migraines.
- Drink enough water – Headaches and migraines could sometimes be triggered by dehydration. Ensure that you drink at least about 2 liters of water a day. Be especially mindful of the amount of water you drink on hot days. Also, if you are drinking alcohol, ensure that you drink sufficient water, as alcohol is a migraine trigger.
Try to make these lifestyle changes to manage migraines as with time; you should be able to reduce the severity or avoid them from occurring altogether.