Headaches are a fairly common problem for a lot of us. We get pretty good at telling when one is coming too from the tiny cues that signal that our heads are going to be pounding in the near future. There are a few strategies that we adopt if we’re particularly headache prone such as stashing painkillers on our person or in the places that we commonly are. It doesn’t make the headaches any more tolerable, but it at least lets us have an answer to them that will help reduce our misery. Wouldn’t it be better to avoid the headaches in the first place though? There are triggers in all our lives that can lead to us developing headaches. Paying attention to what presages your headaches and learning your triggers can be a good way to reduce the number of times you experience them. We’re going to cover a few common headache triggers here so that you have an idea of what to look for when searching for your own.

Stress
This is one of the major culprits for people in all walks of life. Life is consistently stressful as we move from situation to situation trying to keep everything under control. It gets overwhelming sometimes and we just want a clear path forward where things are just a tad less frustrating. The fact that it never quite seems to work out tends to weigh on us all. Stress does a lot of negative things to the body and one of them is how it contributes to triggering headaches. The level of stress it takes to trigger a headache varies from person to person. As a result, it is hard to pin down any particular amount of stress to avoid, but as a general rule, you should focus on trying to ensure you’re engaged in adequate stress management regularly. Give yourself time away from your sources of stress among people or things that help you enjoy your life. Allowing yourself this small luxury will go a long way towards preventing stress headaches.

Hunger and Dehydration
There’s no need to openly admit to it, but a lot of us tend to get really engrossed in the various aspects of our lives. Sometimes this leads to points where we may forget to eat or drink for a little while. Your body relies on regular food and water to keep it healthy though. When your blood sugar gets too low or you’re not getting enough water, you start getting warning signs. Headaches are a common one. These are typically accompanied by a lessened mood that is independent of the headache and other signs of unpleasantness. Fortunately, headaches triggered by this source are easily managed. You sincerely just need to eat something or have a glass or two of water. This will give your body what it is craving so that you can return to going about your day. Consider putting reminders in your routine to help you avoid making this mistake if you’re prone to missing meals or not getting enough water.

Sleep Deprivation
Modern life has a habit of never letting us stop moving. There’s always something new to see or something that needs to get done in a really short space of time. This leads to situations where we tend to skimp a little on sleep. Sleep is important to your body though. Your body actually uses the time when you’re sleeping to conduct the majority of its repairs and ensure everything is in working order. Missing out on sleep tends to lead to a direct accumulation of damage to the body and thereby contributes to both physical and mental strain. Sleep deprivation is a sadly common headache trigger as a result. You’ll typically start to experience such a headache within a few hours of not going to bed when you normally do as your body starts to realize something is amiss. It will generally get slightly worse after that, but seldom reach migraine levels. Most of the time you’re just going to need to do what you already needed to do: sleep. It will let your weary body and mind finally have a break and start moving forward again.

Common headache triggers are something most of us have to deal with in our lives. They tend to be caused by neglecting ourselves in favor of other aspects of our lives. If we’re honest, we’ve all forgotten to eat and drink sometimes as well as stayed up too late for our own good. We’ve also let stress and anxiety get the best of us instead of effectively managing it. Avoiding these triggers means committing to taking care of yourself. Once you do that, you can generally sidestep some of the most common ones.