Do you suffer from headaches? We have some tips for dealing with the discomfort

There are few pains as unbearable as the headaches and migraines. Sufferers are sometimes bothered with them on an almost daily basis, which interferes with their normal daily routines and forces them to take refuge in dark, silent rooms.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies migraine as one of the five most incapacitating illnesses and the condition affects 12% of the population. With migraines, the headache is accompanied by visual and auditory disturbances.

Tips for treating migraines

The factors that trigger migraines are unclear, so it is difficult to pinpoint how to prevent them. However, neurologists recommend avoiding certain foods, getting enough rest and avoiding stress:

1. Stay calm: nervousness, stress and anxiety can cause severe headaches. Try to deal with everyday worries as calmly as possible. It helps to write a ‘to-do’ list with all your outstanding tasks and to cross them off as you finish them, unhurriedly, but at a steady pace.

2. Stick to a bedtime routine: healthy sleeping habits, going to bed and getting up at more or less the same time and getting enough sleep can help to prevent migraines. Too much sleep can be as bad as too little. Your routine should be more or less the same on weekdays and at weekends.

3. Watch your diet: eating between meals can cause a migraine, as can dairy products and citrus fruits. These products contain a lot of histamine, a molecule eliminated through urine. People who get migraines find it difficult to eliminate this substance.

4. Get the right amount of exercise: it has been shown that strenuous exercise (such as running or aerobics) can cause headaches. Stick to moderate exercise or gentle sports.

5. Massage your forehead: one of the most effective and simplest ways of dealing with migraine is to apply pressure to centre of your forehead with the tips of the fingers for several minutes. If possible, rest in a dimly-lit or dark, quiet, well-ventilated place.

Although we still have a lot to learn about migraine, these recommendations will help you to prevent them and to relieve the pain quickly and simply.

Learning new techniques to improve your health and wellbeing is always beneficial.

This post is also available in: Spanish