I suffer from frequent headaches… Occasionally I deal with a mild squeezing sensation at the back of our skull and other times, the pain progresses into a full-blown migraine.

When the symptoms are at their worst, I’m forced to crawl back in bed.

I take tylenol, wrap our head in a heating pad and make the room totally dark. I have already thrown up or fainted because of these headaches. I can usually trace the cause for them. They can be stress related, due to lack of adequate sleep or caused by not enough water. I’ve learned that I need to take better care of myself. I’ve also figured out that it’s best to be proactive. At the first sign of a headache coming on, I immediately take pain medication. I then fill up a water bottle and exercise. A good sweat helps to minimize and often get rid of the symptoms. I focus on high-intensity aerobics. I make sure to get breathless and work our lungs. I elevate our heart rate and push myself until I’m drenched in sweat, and jumping rope, quick sprints, burpees, lunge jumps, squat jumps and mountain climbers are good ways to combat a headache, but for temperate headaches, the combination of exercise and hydration are the key to prevention and recovery. However, there are times when the workout actually worsens the symptoms. Periodically, jumping around is just awful. I then switch to low impact chances such as static holds. I devote our time to deep stretches and breathing techniques. I’ve found that yoga can be especially beneficial.

Health and wellness