<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"The pain often begins slowly, but before long, a tight band of achiness has spread to your neck and forehead, while a fierce throbbing has taken over the temples. A tension headache has arrived. Blame biology if you&amp;#039;re one of the millions who suffer such pain regularly. &amp;quot;Some people have an easily excitable brain, one that doesn&amp;#039;t need much to tip it into trouble,&amp;quot; says Lawrence Robbins, M.D., of the Robbins Headache Clinic in Northbrook, Illinois. But there are underlying causes, too, and avoiding them is the best way to keep tension headaches at bay. The most obvious trigger \u2014 no surprise \u2014 is stress. Minimize yours by exercising, eating healthy, or simply slowing down. Other, less well-known triggers are frequently to blame as well.  BAD HABITS  Not enough sleep. When you&amp;#039;re tired, the normal chemicals flowing to your brain become disrupted. To get the rest you need, stick to a regular bedtime, avoid heavy meals before bed, and turn off the TV well before turning in, advises Clete Kushida, M.D., Ph.D., of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research. Skipping meals.  The drop in blood sugar causes a chemical cascade that can bring on head pain. The same mechanism is behind weekend headaches, which typically strike after you&amp;#039;ve slept in. To keep your blood sugar regulated, eat at the same time every morning, even if that means getting up and having a glass of juice or some crackers, then going back to bed, advises Seymour Diamond, M.D., of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. Poor posture. Holding your neck in an unnatural position can tighten muscles, causing spasm. The Rx: Stand tall, keep head straight, and gently pull your shoulders back. Slumping at the computer creates problems too. Stop every hour to exercise: Drop chin toward your left shoulder, then roll it across your chest to your right shoulder; reverse and repeat. Eyestrain. Squinting overexerts the muscles around the eyes and throughout the head. Make sure you&amp;#039;re a comfortable distance from the computer and eliminate any glare; look away every 15 minutes or so. MEDICAL CAUSES Drugs. Nearly every medication, including oral contraceptives, allergy pills, and cholesterol-lowering drugs, lists headaches as a potential side effect. Ironically, this includes many drugstore headache pills, says Penny Tenzer, M.D., of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. If you take aspirin or ibuprofen more than a few days a week, your body may become dependent on the drugs; then, when you try to stop, you develop what&amp;#039;s called an analgesic rebound headache. Talk to your doctor if you suspect a medication may be the cause of your pain; switching drugs could make a difference. Diabetes. Almost a third of the 21 million Americans with diabetes don&amp;#039;t know they have the disease. One clue: headaches, which can be caused by dehydration and chemicals released by unchecked blood sugar fluctuations. Ask your doctor about being tested, especially if your headache is accompanied by thirst and excessive urination, says Francine Kaufman, M.D., a diabetes specialist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. TMJ disorders The temporomandibular joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull sometimes get misaligned \u2014 usually the result of grinding or clenching teeth. If this causes head pain, doctors recommend massaging the jaw and consciously relaxing facial muscles. Your dentist can also fit you with a mouth guard. HORMONAL UPHEAVALS Your period. Many women get headaches just before their period starts or on the first day, according to Dawn Marcus, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Blame a drop in estrogen levels, which sets off a chain of chemicals that affect the delicate balance in the brain. If you suffer every month, talk to your doctor: Headache medication taken preventively or sustained birth control pills (like Seasonale) could provide relief. Perimenopause. Hormones can fluctuate widely before the onset of menopause, often aggravating headaches. For severe cases, hormone replacement therapy may help. The Pill. When you&amp;#039;re taking oral contraceptives, your body becomes used to higher estrogen levels during the first three weeks of the cycle, then must readjust to lower levels in the last week. The drop-off in estrogen can cause headaches. Check with your ob-gyn: A different Pill formulation may stabilize hormones \u2014 and eliminate headaches.  STILL SUFFERING? See your doctor, especially if you&amp;#039;re struck with a headache two or three times a week. What you&amp;#039;re calling a tension headache may be a migraine, says Ninan T. Mathew, M.D., of the Houston Headache Clinic. &amp;quot;While the symptoms can be similar, there are different triggers for migraines, and they are best treated with different medications.&amp;quot; HOW SHE FINALLY CURED HER HEADACHES Until five years ago, Nicole Mladic rarely had headaches. But then she started a new job in public relations and began to suffer frequently. &amp;quot;It got so bad, I had to go home,&amp;quot; says Mladic, who lives in Oak Park, Illinois. Finally, she consulted her doctor. The diagnosis: bad work habits \u2014 specifically, the long hours Mladic spent hunched over her computer or talking on the phone, her neck crooked to one side. Now she gets up from her desk every hour and walks down the hall. She also does neck stretches a few times daily and exercises regularly to relieve stress. These simple fixes (along with taking Tylenol at the first twinge of pain) did the trick: Mladic hasn&amp;#039;t had a headache in months.  WHEN IT&amp;#039;S MORE SERIOUS Rarely, the pain can signal an urgent problem. Call your doctor immediately or go to the ER if your headache:  Comes on suddenly and is the worst headache you&amp;#039;ve ever had. This could be a sign of an aneurysm about to burst. Is accompanied by fever, stiff neck, lethargy, or uncontrollable vomiting. It might be meningitis. Causes you to be confused or lose consciousness. It could be a concussion, encephalitis, or bleeding in the brain. Starts out small and steadily progresses over several days. This could be a signal of a brain tumor or a brain disorder.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/a16979/last-headache-aug06/>