It’s no surprise that millions of people experience daily tension headaches in this day of unprecedented stress. These headaches are incapacitating and excruciating, often manifesting as a dull, tight pain in the temples, back of the head, and even the neck and shoulders. These headaches are painful but not harmful and can be avoided via lifestyle changes. People typically reach for an over-the-counter pain reliever when discomfort strikes, but these drugs mask the pain and do nothing to fix the underlying problem. Here are five things you can do to keep yourself from ever having to go through that pain again. To top it all off, you can do them without leaving your workplace.
Assess Your Current Situation
It’s easy for most of us to work nonstop without taking time to assess how our bodies and minds are holding up. As a result, our bodies store all that pent-up anxiety and stress as tight muscles, most noticeably in the face and neck. The effects of stress on our bodies and minds aren’t always immediately apparent. The most effective treatment for tension headaches is prevention or, at the least, reducing their severity after they have begun.
Do a quick self-check if you feel a headache coming on. Close your eyes and pay close attention to any regions of tension in your body. The face, jaw, and shoulders are the most prevalent tension storage and expression sites. Is there wrinkling in your forehead? Do you have a toothy grin on your face? Perhaps you’re carrying yourself with a hunched back. Feel your entire body to see if there are any areas of tightness. If so, take a deep breath, and then let go of all your worries and concerns as you let out the air. Take note of how your body changes when your muscles loosen up. Repeat this process until your muscles are no longer tense. This may not eliminate your headache, but it will educate you to release your tension and negative feelings. Repeat this several times a day to relieve and prevent muscle strain.
Modify Your Stance
You probably aren’t sitting right at your desk if you spend most of your day there. Be careful to sit up straight with your back against the chair’s back and your feet flat on the floor. Your knees and arms should be bent at a 90-degree angle when reaching for the keyboard. Never slump in front of your screen or lean forward. When you push your shoulders back and lift your chest, more blood may flow to your brain.
If you must be on your feet all day, stand with a modest knee bend and a comfortable distance between your feet. Put your weight onto the middle of your feet rather than your heels. Relax your shoulders and let your arms dangle at your sides.
It’s essential to be mindful of your posture at all times, whether you’re sitting, standing, or lying down. Even if you sit up straight to begin the day, you can find yourself slouching towards the end of the day. Tension headaches can be avoided with the right kind of muscle alignment and blood flow.
Soothe Your Eyes
When trying to unwind, many people forget they also have muscles around their eyes. However, your eyes put in more effort when reading for long periods, driving long distances, or gazing at a computer screen all day. Headaches are a common side effect of eye strain, but there is a solution. Here are some simple eye exercises to help you unwind and give your eyes a break.
It’s best to “warm up” the muscles in your eyes before beginning any eye training. To achieve this, massage your hands and rest them softly on your closed eyes. Breathe profoundly and unwind; close your eyes and absorb the comforting warmth and resulting darkness. When reading or working on a computer for extended periods, it’s essential to give your eyes a break by staring into the distance. Find something between 10 and 20 feet away, then stare at it intently for 30 seconds. Then, for the next 15 seconds, look somewhere 15 feet before you. Do this several times until you see that your eyes are adjusting better.
Maintain a tall, front posture while fixing your gaze on something in the room. Examine objects as far to the right as possible without straining your neck or moving your head. It’s a beautiful sensation as your eye muscles lengthen. Tend to this fully before shifting your attention back to the focal point. To the left, do the same thing. Repeat the process when looking up and down, and then try it while looking in diagonal directions. Finish the routine by rolling your eyes in a clockwise and then a counterclockwise circle.
A Muscle-Soothing Massage
When a stress headache strikes, most individuals can’t just get up and head to the spa. Perhaps we wouldn’t be feeling so anxious if that were the case. If you can’t afford a professional massage, try massaging your face, neck, and shoulders.
Begin with the temples and use two fingers to massage circularly over the sensitive areas. You don’t want to hurt yourself, so go easy. Apply the same circular pressure to your chin, neck, and forehead. Make sure you’re breathing deeply and letting the rest of your body relax simultaneously. Finally, massage each shoulder individually with the other arm. Move gently and in circular motions at all times.
Always be Practicing
If you’ve followed these instructions, you should feel less tense, and the discomfort in your head and neck should ease. Don’t simply employ these techniques when you have a headache; use them so you never have to deal with one. The very name “tension headache” reveals the nature and origin of this type of discomfort. It’s time to start paying attention to your body and its observable changes in stressful situations. Repeated use of these techniques will make them second nature, and you’ll soon be on your way to a more peaceful, pain-free existence.
Living a healthy, pain-free lifestyle is crucial to your happiness. If you click HERE, you can access a wealth of additional information and helpful hints.
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