4 Menopause Headache Triggers What Can Help
4 Menopause Headache Triggers What Can Help
Menopause can affect headaches in several ways and symptoms may be felt differently for every woman.
Menopause Headaches
If you suffer headaches due to hormonal changes, you may find relief after menopause.
This may mean that you have fewer headaches or less severe headaches.
This can be due to your lower levels of estrogen, with little fluctuation, after your period stops for good.
On the other hand, you may have more frequent or worse headaches during perimenopause.
It is even possible for women who have never had problems with hormonal headaches to start having headaches during this time.
Triggers that can cause headaches
Hot flashes
These can trigger headaches and are caused by your blood vessels opening up too suddenly due to the heat and that in turn triggers the spasming, leading to headaches.
Often this is accompanied by dizziness and palpitations as well as nausea.
Dehydration
This is a really common cause of headaches.
If you are dehydrated, you can end up with a thumping headache.
Dehydration shrinks your brain, causing it to pull away from the skull, resulting in a headache.
Combination of dehydration and blood pressure
Some women find that they get headaches first thing in the morning as they wake up.
This can be due to the fact that you have become dehydrated during the night and the minute you wake up your blood pressure starts to rise.
Having night sweats as well can make matters worse.
A good idea is to keep a glass of water by the bedside and drink this as soon as you wake up.
Stress and anxiety
You can easily get tension headaches when you are stressed.
When you are stressed, your muscles tighten and you can feel tension especially across the shoulders.
An important thing to note, if you suffer from a lot of stress and anxiety, it is very likely that you are also low in magnesium.
Tips to prevent or alleviate headache pain
Exercise and Posture
Regular physical activity can go a long way in helping to prevent headaches.
Aim for 30 minutes of exercise 3 to 4 times each week.
Remember to warm up before jumping into a high-intensity workout or it can trigger a headache.
Pay attention to your posture while sitting at your desk and support your spine if necessary.
Take a break every now and then and do a couple of stretches and exercises to support your posture.
Invest in a good pillow
Sleeping on a too soft pillow can cause tension across the shoulders.
Watch your diet
Don’t skip meals and do not reduce your calorie count too drastically.
Avoid the following:
- Caffeine
- High sugar foods
- High salt foods
- Alcohol, especially red wine
- Chocolate
- Certain cheeses
- Dairy products
Keep your blood sugar stable
If you are not eating enough, your blood sugars will dip and that can trigger headaches as well.
Taking supplements
Certain nutritional supplements have shown to be successful in limiting headache frequency.
- Vitamin B complex
- Magnesium
- Vitamin D
- Coenzyme Q10
Dehydration
If you become dehydrated, it affects the blood vessels which can then trigger headaches and migraines.
Biofeedback therapy
You can try biofeedback and relaxation therapy to help deal with severe headaches.
These use a variety of techniques to control how your body physically responds to stress, muscle tension, and even pain.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
CBT involves stress relief techniques, as well as teaching you how to better deal with pain stressors.
If you are experiencing headaches every single day and if you find that these tips are not helping, then you need to get medical advice.
What about migraine headaches
Fluctuations in estrogen are linked to migraine headaches.
You may be experiencing migraines for the first time or see an increase in severity or frequency during menopause.
Some women have the reverse reaction and experience a reduction in migraine occurrence during menopause.
One of the reasons that you get headaches during menopause is due to your estrogen falling.
There are specific estrogen receptor sites in the blood vessels and if your estrogen is low or falls quite suddenly, it will trigger the blood vessels to go into a spasm, especially around the back of the neck or the shoulders.
Sources
mayoclinic.org – headaches and hormones
southsidepainspecialists.com – dehydration and headaches
americanmigrainefoundation.org – top 10 migraine triggers
clevelandclinic.org – headaches and food
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – cbt for treatment of headaches
medicalnewstoday.com – sugar headache
nhs.uk – 10 headache triggers
