How to Treat a Headache without Medication

Headache pain can range from a mild irritation to teeth-grinding, day-stopping pain that makes normal function impossible. When suffering headache pain, your first impulse may be to reach for medication, but did you know there are several effective methods of treating headaches naturally? The next time headache pain strikes try these suggestions for treating it without medication.

The cause of your headache pain can help determine the simplest way of treating it without medication. One interesting tidbit: no matter what the underlying cause, new research suggests that disrupted electrical activity in the brain may be the ultimate trigger of headache pain.

Some of the most common reasons for headache pain are:

·         Hunger

·         Anxiety and muscle tension

·         Physical exhaustion brought on by insomnia or overwork

·         Eyestrain caused by too many hours at the computer or poor lighting in your work/study area

·         Sinus or allergy triggers

·         Migraine symptoms

Treating headache pain with self-care techniques, rather than medication, can be quite effective. Simple acupressure techniques such as pressing your thumbs against the base of the skull while gently dropping the head back then forward, may relieve the tension that has disrupted the brain’s activity. Massaging the neck, jaw, and forehead can also be helpful.

Another way to find relief from headache pain is by simply taking a nap or sitting quietly in a darkened room over a lunch hour. Others find relief through meditation or relaxation exercises that reduce mental and physical tension. One more time-honored way to relieve headache pain is to apply heat or cold to the forehead and back of the neck.

For headache pain that persists, you may need to seek professional help. Once it’s been determined there isn’t an illness or injury causing the headaches to reappear, there are a number of non-medication based methods they might prescribe for relieving headache pain.

A chiropractor might, for example, use adjustment, massage and other therapies to relieve recurring headaches. Many medical professionals are now using neurofeedback training to teach patients how to self-regulate irregular brainwave activity associated with headaches.

An acupuncture or acupressure practitioner can also be helpful in bringing relief to those for whom headache pain is a frequent occurrence. And don’t forget to consult your massage therapist about the pain you’re feeling; they can teach you a number of techniques for relieving the muscle tension that may be at the root of your pain.

Headache pain can be caused by many things, and can be relieved in a variety of ways, with or without medication. If you’re interested in how to treat a headache without medication, try the suggestions above to determine which best brings you relief.

NEUROFEEDBACK FOR MIGRAINES & HEADACHES

How to Beat Insomnia in Thirty Days

Tired of tossing and turning? Ready to get some rest? The situation isn’t hopeless – there are plenty of things you can do to restore your body to normal sleep patterns. But it’s going to take commitment on your part. If you’re willing to follow these commonsense guidelines for the next month, you’ll soon be sleeping like a dream.

1)      Establish a sleep zone. For the next thirty days, make your bedroom a haven for sleep. Commit to keeping cell phone use, television watching, and tablet reading out of the bedroom. Don’t sleep alone? Ask the person who shares your bedroom to honor this thirty day pact as well. After all, it’s much nicer to live with a person who gets enough sleep, so that should be an incentive for them.

2)      Put yourself on a schedule. Random, uncertain bedtimes set the stage for insomnia, as your body’s rhythms are thrown off-course. Think about how tired you were as a child after no-sleep slumber parties or camp-outs in a buddy’s backyard. That’s how your body feels all the time when you don’t have regular sleep habits.

3)      Clear out sleep-stealing habits. For the next month, honor your need for sleep by refusing to do things that may be feeding your insomnia. Late night exercise, eating, or arguing switch on hormones and processes in your body detrimental to sleep. Work out late afternoon or early morning. Stop snacking at 10 p.m. Decide not to start that argument as you’re crawling into bed with your partner. If it’s important, write it down and then let it go until morning.

4)      If you’re awake, leave the bedroom. Part of the process of forming good sleep habits is associating your bedroom with sleep (see #1). If you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep, get up and leave the bedroom. Walk around the house for a bit or sit on the couch and meditate (but don’t turn on that television or pick up a book!). When you start feeling sleepy again, go back to bed.

5)      Give yourself the gift of sleep. The motivation for establishing a sleep zone, putting yourself on a schedule, clearing out sleep-stealing habits, and refusing to lie awake in bed begins with recognizing the value of sleep. A long night’s uninterrupted slumber is a gift only you can give yourself; one that nourishes body, mind, and spirit.

The ability to sleep through the night escapes most of us at one time or another; however, insomnia, does not have to be a permanent condition. Follow these practical guidelines for how to beat insomnia for the next thirty days. Your current insomnia could very well become a thing of the past.

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