Right in the middle of a recent deadline I developed a real blinder of a headache. Rather than take an aspirin or ibuprofen I drank a glass of water – and felt better almost immediately.
I won’t say I was actually dehydrated, but I might have been on the way. Or maybe I wasn’t. All I know is that water made me feel better. It often does.
It was also, of course, free.
Whether your headache is caused by incipient dehydration, stress, lack of sleep, lousy working conditions or marriage, try one of these no-drug methods to relieve the pain.
1. Drink some water. Possibly it’s the act of leaving the situation you’re in (sitting at a computer, sweeping a floor, cold-calling potential customers) to get the water that actually helps you. Whatever works.
2. Brush your hair/massage your scalp. At home, I use a goofy device called The Tingler, which I got years ago at a street fair. (I don’t get any kind of affiliate fee for that URL, by the way. I just wanted you to see what the thing looks like: a copper octopus.) Outside the house, I use a big-toothed comb. Either one can make a big difference. Either one can also cause some serious bed-head, so straighten up your ’do before you scare some little kid, or your supervisor.
3. Acupressure. Can’t sneak away from the staff meeting for a drink of water or a head rub? Use the tip of your right thumb to probe in between your left thumb and index finger, down low where the thumb joins your hand. Push straight down. You’ll know the spot when you find it because it will create a weird, buzzing feeling. It should also start to interrupt your headache. After four or five probes, switch hands.
4. Take a walk. Removing yourself from physical, mental or emotional stressors can go a long way toward easing a headache. Not always possible, I know. But if you could even step away from what you’re doing and walk back and forth for 30 seconds it might help. If you can walk outside for three or four minutes, or down one flight of steps and back up another one, so much the better. And while you’re up, why not try…
5. Some therapeutic stretching. Improperly designed workstations, repetitive motions (whether you’re a mechanic or a dental hygienist), sitting for too long at a time, staring for hours at a computer screen – these and other ergo no-no’s can result in a throbbing noggin. Why not do a Swagbucks search for “workplace stretches” before you need them, and be ready to self-medicate when your head begins to pound? If you’re lucky you’ll earn some Swagbucks. (If you’re not yet signed up, then for heaven’s sake do so.)
6. A restorative yoga pose. This probably won’t fly if you work in a machine shop, a dentist’s office or a room with other people in it. But give it a try if you have any chance for privacy during the day. Here’s the pose that I use: Lie on the floor in front of a chair or sofa with your legs up on it, i.e., calves flat against the seat; take slow, deep breaths and make sure to relax your shoulders and your jaw. There is more than one restorative pose out there, so do a Swagbucks search for “restorative yoga poses” until you find one that works for you.
7. Laughter. When you’ve got a headache you may not feel inclined to chortle on your own. Seek out something irresistibly funny and let loose a few guffaws. Laughter reduces stress hormone levels and increases the good stuff like endorphins (nature’s ibuprofen!) and antibody-producing cells. Personally, I recommend the Hyperbole and a Half and FML websites, and this musical video about the perils of cheap flights. None of the three is for the faint of heart, containing as they do naughty language and/or adult situations. I find them all to be pretty effective painkillers.
8. Sex. This one’s a little tricky since headaches are often associated with a reluctance to indulge. But the hyped-up circulation, deep breathing, and orgasm-related hormones and endorphins are all potential pain-fighters. It works for other parts of your body, too, according to an article called “Sex does the body good.” In fact, sex may even be good for your teeth.
I double-dog dare you not to follow that link to find out how. And no, I’m not getting paid per click for that one, either.
Question about swagbucks – do you find that their search engine is not as good as Google? I tried it for about a week but I got annoyed because I can’t find things as easily as when I use Google. What are your thoughts?
@The Girl Next Door: I think that Swagbucks is a decent search engine, although not as comprehensive as Google. Sometimes I use Google if I need a specific type of result but generally Swagbucks does it for me.
‘Men’s Health magazine has gone so far as to call the bed the single greatest piece of exercise equipment ever invented. ‘
I had to laugh at that one.
LOL
When I was about 20-years-old, I discovered that taking off my bra made my headache disappear immediately. You might want to add that to the list…lol.
What about dudes? We suffer headaches too. 😉
Brushing the hair does wonders, it does.
Taking a shower and letting the water hit the back of my neck while massaging it helps me sometimes too.
Dona, love your title. Yes, divorce can get rid of a big pain!
To Girl Next Door, I totally agree with you. I find swagbucks search engine to be quite inadequate. I find it works better if you look for a specific website like facebook, wikipedia or the site that I use for my email accounts.
Donna, The water works for my headache, a shower or just lying down in a dark room. As for sex….no that does not help me one bit. But maybe I should give it another try.
I just discovered that tip number 3 (acupressure) also works amazingly well to reduce the pain and immobility of thumb joint arthritis. Nothing else I’ve tried even comes close. Thank you!
@Ann_in_Oregon: I’m so glad to hear that. A friend of mine has arthritis in her thumbs and I’ll let her know.
I find that if I can get my neck and/or jaw relaxed it helps with a headache.
I’m sure that Den will love your idea but I’m not sold on the last one. ;p
A bag of frozen peas or corn applied to the back of the neck, or to the area of the head that seems to hurt the most.
I totally agree on yoga! I’ve gone to yoga class completely stressed out and left blissful. It’s an amazing practice. Water is another good tip. Most of the time we are dehydrated and don’t even know it. I keep a bottle of water at my desk and drink it all day.
I was in a lecture once with a physical therapist. He quoted some ridiculously high percentage of headaches are actually due to muscle tension. We had about 100 people in the room and picked a student out at random who had a headache right at that second. He poked at some of the muscles on her head and neck and sure enough she was real sensitive. He then proceded to strech out some of her muscles with manipulations. Guess what? She had no more headache. Wild.
I find that sometimes sucking on an ice cube can help take away my headache….something about the cold hitting the roof of your mouth way in the back my dr. said…..ice cream works too!!
I will not do number 8