I know there are many times when you’re lifting weights, taking a class, or doing your own cardio like running, where all of a sudden you get this pounding headache. So in this article I’m going to talk about why we can get exercise headaches and what steps we can take to avoid them.
What happens during a headache?
Nociceptors (pain-sensitive nerve endings) are stimulated by stress, muscle tension, dilated blood vessels, and other headache triggers, and they send a message to nerve cells in the brain, indicating that a part of the body hurts.
Headaches generally target six main areas. These areas are the muscles of the face and head, the blood vessels at the base of the brain, and the nerves to the scalp, throat, face, and mouth. Each affected area has a large number of pain receptors in the immediate vicinity.
Different chemicals help transmit pain-related information to the brain, including endorphins, natural pain-relieving proteins. It has been suggested that people who suffer from severe headaches or other chronic pain have lower levels of endorphins than people who are generally pain free.
Here is a list of factors that can cause a headache:
or dehydration
o Imbalance of electrolytes or other minerals (for example, potassium and sodium)
o Intake of overly salty foods and diuretic-type drinks such as coffee
or lack of sleep
or chronic stress
o Lack of blood flow or muscle spasms
Let’s take a look at some steps we can take to avoid exercise-induced headaches:
1.) Drink more water.
– If you think you’re drinking enough water… try drinking more! Because most likely it will not be enough. Don’t drink only during exercise, drink before and after to prepare your body for rigorous work.
2.) Reduce Your Intake of Natural Diuretics
– Drink no more than 1-2 cups of coffee per day
– Eat less salty foods and processed meat
– Do not add salt! Train your taste buds to enjoy the food and not the salt!!
3.) Supplement with electrolytes, vitamins and minerals.
– With today’s modern diet, your body is likely to be out of balance or deficient in certain nutrients. Take a multivitamin and multimineral as an insurance policy. The capsule form is best because it is most easily absorbed by your body.
4.) Naturally Increases Endorphins in the Body
– Before starting intense exercise, warm up very well and listen to motivating music.
– Focus on your breathing and meditate first for a few minutes. De-stress before you stress!
– Try to sleep more!! At least 7-8 hours per night.
5.) Stretch and increase flexibility
– Stretch at the end of each workout. This will improve flexibility, which will improve blood flow and recovery, which can lead to vascular dilation in the head.
– Try yoga… Great for flexibility, breathing and meditation.
Hopefully this knowledge will help alleviate those painful headaches. If the headaches continue after taking all necessary measures, I advise you to seek professional help and ask your doctor to investigate this further.
