In the busy lives all of us lead, headache is a common feature for all of us! There would hardly be any adults who have not experienced headaches or hardly experience. It has not become a lifestyle problem. Accept it or not, everyone has a strip of headache pills present in their medicine box! Headache might not seem such a big issue, but it can turn out to be a symptom for a major health condition. So treating headaches is as necessary as treating any other major health condition. Believe it or not, there are more than 100 types of headaches! Some of them being stress headaches, migraine attacks and sinus headaches. This article is all about the tips to reduce the intensity and occurrence of headaches and also some essential oils that will help in relaxing your mind. But before that, let’s take a quick look at the major causes of headaches and try to avoid them!

Causes

Like I mentioned above that there more than 100 types of headaches, then there has to be a lot of reasons for it as well! Read on for some of the most common causes of headaches.

• Illness
• Stress
• Inappropriate environment
• Lack of sleep
• Poor posture
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Excessive physical activity

Essential Oils

With a brief idea on the causes of headaches, let’s know what oils can help us relieve from the throbbing pain.

Lavender

Lavender oil is the most commonly used essential oil, since ancient times! There are innumerable benefits of this oil, and with that amazing essence, all of us are induced to use it. Be it for skin, for hair, for treating internal problems, or to soothe those nerves; lavender oil comes to the rescue. Feeling anxious all the time? You should definitely keep lavender oil at your office desk! The lavender essence is such that it rejuvenates the nerves and increases mental activity, giving you all kinds of positive vibes and preventing anxiety attacks. Ever wondered why the luxurious spas use lavender oil? Lavender aromatherapy is the best to calm you down and help you relax. For those who are under immense work pressure, go and buy an oil diffuser and add lavender oil, the essence will calm you down and help you concentrate better. You can also use lavender oil while drawing your bath, just add a few drops of this oil in your bath tub and relax. Lavender oil not only keeps you calm, it also helps in getting rid of throbbing headaches and anger, both of which are complementary products of stress, anxiety and depression!

Peppermint

Another essential oil with a number of health benefits is peppermint oil. Recall when you love the minty flavour of candies and iced tea; relaxing isn’t it? Indeed it is. It has a lot of benefits, among which relieving one from headaches, stress, depression and anxiety is the most common one. Yes, peppermint oil has refreshing components that helps in keeping the mind fresh, further helping the person to think clearly and concentrate on his work. It stimulates mental activity, clears the mind and also increases the focus. With long lasting cooling effect, peppermint oil also helps tremendously in soothing headaches. Any person going through a tough phase or under immense pressure tends to have a throbbing head, for which peppermint oil turns to be like a magic wand. It is terrific to keep it handy always, be it in your bedroom, in your car or at your office desk. To get rid of headaches, simply massage your head with a few drops of peppermint oil. You could also dab a few drops on your wrist and keep sniffing it every now and then. For relaxing after a hard day at work, add a few drops of peppermint oil in your bath tub and sit back to let the oil do its work. If you plan to be on your toes throughout the day, sprinkle a few drops of this oil in your handkerchief and keep smelling it every now and then this will keep laziness and fatigue at bay. The aroma of the herb works wonders to cure the problem by soothing the agitated and frayed muscles and nerves of the head. As the muscles relax the intensity of the pain associated with migraine reduces considerably. Instead of oil, you can also buy peppermint sticks and keep sniffing on it whenever your head aches. People who regularly suffer from migraine prefer going for aroma therapy treatments that use peppermint essential oil specifically for treating chronic headaches.

Sandalwood

Feeling as if someone is hammering your head continuously? Are you not able to take even the easiest decision at work or at home? Worry no more, as sandalwood oil comes to your rescue! Sandalwood is used extensively in Indian households for rituals and puja, and also for skin issues. Sandalwood oil also serves various health purposes, mostly for soothing one from headaches and migraines. The sweet smell of sandalwood invokes calmness and mental clarity, helping in easy decision making and daily functioning. Many of us are stressed out and overwhelmed with so many daily demands that having just a moment of peace and harmony would really improve our lives. Sandalwood aroma around us would definitely help us clear our minds and give peace. It is believed to have the capacity to boost both your immunity and your mood. Sandalwood will effectively cool the head and help reduce the inflammation of the nerves in the head. Treating inflammation of the nerves is an important step in treating headaches and migraines. This works even better if you sit in a dark room after applying this oil on your forehead. It is believed that the peace and calm of a darkened room combined with the coolness of sandalwood helps ease the stress in the nerves that accompanies migraine. Sandalwood oil has an effect on overall well-being and mental health along with many other healing properties. So, catch hold of a sandalwood oil bottle and apply the oil on your forehead and massage for a few minutes.

Tips to reduce Headaches and Migraine Attacks

Headache is quite a common thing in the busy robotic life that all of us lead. Work pressure, financial crisis, family problems etc. are some of the issues we all come across in life, which leads to headaches. For some headaches might even take a step further and lead to migraines. Hard situations are recurring in nature but suffering from headaches throughout is not a goof option. So, are there any easy tips to reduce the occurrence and intensity of headaches? Yes, read on for some very easy and useful tips if applied will give you relief from your throbbing head.

Watch What You Eat

Watching what you eat is the most important thing to do! There are some foods that trigger headaches and migraine attacks, so better stay away from such food!

• Dairy products like cheese
• Canned food
• Extremely cold things like ice, ice-cream
• Meats
• Artificial sweeteners

Sleep tight!

A good 8 hour sleep is a must to keep stress, depression and headaches at bay. No matter how much work load you have, make sure you sleep for at least 8 hours so that your next day is very peacefull and headache-less!

Water Water Everywhere!

Is there any better body cleanser like water? No, drinking water is the solution to almost every health issue! Be it skin problems or gastric problems, everything is sorted by water. Drinking at least 8-10 glasses everyday will cleanse and detoxify your body keeping ailments including headaches at bay! Go and drink a glass of water right now!

Stay Fit

Staying fit does not mean that you are supposed to hit the gym and get those perfect cuts and abs! Just wake up in the morning and go out for a jog for 30-40 minutes that’s it! This will help reducing the stress and tension which leads to headaches. By jogging or walking, body fatigue also goes away, another reason for headache. So, set an alarm for tomorrow morning now!

Avoid drinks

Drinks here include all types of sodas, coffee and tea. These drinks tend to trigger headaches and might make you feel uncomfortable with increased consumption. Drink water instead; add a few drops of lemon if you want to change the taste.

Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes

Remember that house party you hosted and ended up having a severe headache the next day? Reason? Excessive alcohol and smoke. It might not be easy for you to give up either, but try to reduce your consumption at the next party; gradually your consumption would fall and maybe you might not drink at all!

Keep a Check

If you are someone who has a headache almost throughout the day, there must be something you are doing wrong which is triggering the headache. So try to notice what activities lead to your throbbing head. This will not only help you in avoiding those activities but will also help you find out different ways to do a particular thing.

Massage

Keep massaging your forehead and scalp from time to time if headache is a common feature for you throughout the day. You might use some oil if you feel like. Otherwise, just moving your fingers around and massaging will help you a lot!

Meditation and Yoga

When you got for your morning stroll in a park, sit at the park bench and close your eyes to meditate. Focus on your breathing and clear your thoughts. This will help in calming down the mind and getting rid of all the work tension and worries. Try doing some stretching exercise as well. Even while sitting at your desk, you can meditate. Just take out some minutes from your work schedule and close your eyes to meditate. This will help you relax and also fill up your mind with positive vibes and energy.

Music

If you don’t like meditating in the office, then just plug in your earphones and listen to your favourite soft and soothing songs. Instrumental music also works well!

Get your posture right

Stressful situations cause anxiety, which will lead to headaches, laziness and slouching. Slouching, not only reduces your level of confidence but also adds up to stress; and anyway, a slouchy person does not look good. So sit straight with confidence, and keep your chin up!

Just switch it off!

Take out some hours from your daily life and switch off that gadget that keeps you engaged all the time! Notifications and continuous calls on your mobile phones are not more important than your health. Switch it off and put it away from you for some time, and spend that time with your friends and family. Spending time with your family will help you forget all your worries and leave you with a huge smile and a relaxed mind.

Book a spa or a massage appointment

Just thinking about a spa treatment or a massage, relaxes my mind. Imagine the level of relief you can get by actually getting one massage? Oh, somebody massaging that tensed forehead, those tensed muscles; a pathway to relaxation!

Say no

Ten files already on your desk, and another five on its way? If you can avoid those extra files for the day, then do it; otherwise do not commit about its completion. Overcommitting about a particular job takes your stress level to another high.

Complete the pending tasks

Tasks that are left unattended block a part of your brain and constantly reminds you of it. Finish that bugging presentation right away! Don’t let those dirty dishes bother you!

Herbal Teas

Herbal teas like ginger tea, tulsi tea and chamomile tea are great for relieving headaches. Buy a packet of any of these herbal teas and keep it handy; be it at home or at office. So instead of drinking the regular tea or coffee, drink herbal tea.

I’m sure most of you would be convinced on trying out these easy home remedies instead of popping the headache pills! So, the next time you see any of your family members holding their head, play some instrumental music and use an oil diffuser with their favourite scent, and ask them to relax!