Between reading tiny font size in your textbooks, staring at your computer screen, and staying up at all hours, you’re sure to get a wicked headache. With all the studying you’ve got to do, you need to get rid of it fast. You pop some medicine, but the pain won’t go away. So, what do you do?
Trust me, I know this feeling. I’ve always had difficulty with headaches, ever since I was a little kid. I get killer migraines that sometimes go for as long as three to four days. So, I’ve picked up a quick trick or two along the way.
Headache, Away!
The best place to start is with your diet, exercise, and sleeping habits. These both seem near impossible to master on such a tight, college-time schedule, but there are steps you can take that will at least help a little bit.
Drink Water
First, make sure you’re drinking enough water. I’ve linked tons of my headaches to accidental dehydration. I’ll be studying so intensely that I’ll go almost the whole day without a sip of water and not even realize it. So, make sure you’re getting enough fluids. Try to limit your soda and coffee fluid intake, though. Caffeine can make your headaches worse, so it might help to cut out your morning cup o’ joe.
Eat Regularly
Hand in hand with water, make sure you’re eating enough. Again, after those long study sessions, I’ll look up from my textbook and find my stomach growling at Mufasa-like volumes. It’s strange how easy it can be to forget to do such basic things when you’re in the zone. Personally, I have trouble maintaining a “healthy” diet. I convince myself that popcorn is good for me, because it’s technically a vegetable. So, even if it’s not the healthiest meal in the world, get some calories in your body so you can function.
Get Physical
I’ll admit it, I’m not the most active person in the world. But, through accidental research, I’ve been able to find a correlation between the severity and frequency of my headaches, and how much exercise I’m getting. Yoga especially is a great exercise to try to relieve headaches. There are certain yoga positions that specifically target pain relief.
Yoga With Adriene is one of my favorite yogi YouTubers. She has a ton of different yoga series — Vinyasa flow, morning and bedtime series, beginners playlists, you name it! One of my favorite series of hers is Yoga For Healing. Not only does she have sessions ranging from sore wrists to broken hearts, but she also has a video dedicated specifically to headache relief.
I’ve actually tried this video myself and I found that it helped me a lot. I’d absolutely recommend it. I also recommend Adriene’s channel in general if you’re looking for quick, easy, everyday workouts.
Go To Sleep
Now, sleeping. Ah, sleep, the distant utopia of all-nighter participants. In freshman year, I used to be able to go to bed at 3, wake up at 7, and still function through my 8 a.m. bio lab. I didn’t realize how taxing that was on my body until a few days later, when I would wake up on Saturday at 3 p.m., having gotten a full 14-hours of sleep, with a raging headache unrelated to alcohol. Not the best feeling. I learned that if I got at least six hours of sleep a night, I could lessen my chances of getting headaches and make me feel better throughout the day in general.
But I Still Have A Headache!
So, you tackled the basics — food, water, sleep — what now?
I was going on a four day long headache a few weeks ago and was out of options. I tried Excedrin. I tried drinking water. I tried eating. I tried yoga. I tried sleeping it off. But, nothing would work! So, I drove myself to Target and rifled through their tea section until I found…
Lemon-Ginger Tea
Lemon and ginger are inherently good for you, according to health professionals and the Pinterest health tabs. So, lemon and ginger together is a knockout combo. Your throbbing scalp doesn’t stand a chance. My four day headache had virtually vanished after my fourth cup and I was amazed. I’ve started drinking lemon-ginger tea regularly because of this. It’s tangy, it’s sweet, and it’s delicious. Pick up a carton as soon as you can.
I hope these tips help you out in your journey to finally getting rid of the club-bass music thumping bumping against your skull!