Weekend headaches can be a common occurrence, but they can strike when you least expect it. Picture this: you have worked hard all week and you are looking forward to the weekend, maybe planning to go out, meet friends, do some shopping or just relax. And then a headache hits you, effectively ruining all your plans for the weekend.
This horrible headache that seems to only happen during weekends can be caused by a number of reasons, and we'll examine them all.
Caffeine Withdrawal
It is fairly normal to take several cups of coffee during a work day, as it not only gives you a good enough reason to leave your desk and walk around, but also keeps you awake and alert to cope with your workload.
Suppose you usually take three cups of coffee by 11am at work. During a weekend, you might want to sleep longer since you do not have any work to do. But as you continue sleeping, your body is craving its first cup of coffee, and will crave the three cups you usually take if you sleep until 11am. The result? You wake up with a caffeine withdrawal headache.
Identifying If You Have Caffeine Withdrawal
You can try to find out if you have caffeine withdrawal. Set your alarm clock during a weekend and get up at the usual time for work. If you wake up without a headache, you most probably have a caffeine withdrawal problem.
Now test it again... this time go ahead and enjoy a prolonged sleeping period, but as soon as you wake up, have a cup of coffee. If your headache is relieved, or even partially relieved, then the culprit is most certainly caffeine.
Preventing Weekend Headaches
You have two choices if you want to stop the caffeine withdrawal headaches: you cut down on your caffeine intake or you quit drinking coffee altogether. Try drinking decaf. Keep in mind, too, that coffee is not the only source of caffeine; chocolate and soft drinks are also loaded with caffeine.
Other Causes of the Weekend Headache
In as much the same way as a partial withdrawal from caffeine can cause a headache, the same holds true for a partial nicotine withdrawal. Smoking heavily throughout the week then sleeping in on a weekend will cause a headache when you wake up, as your body will be craving its regular nicotine fix. The solution is similar to caffeine withdrawal -- cut down or give up smoking.
Stress Withdrawal
It is a well known fact that stress is one of the most common triggers of migraines. So it seems strange to find out that withdrawing from stress can give you a headache as well. It’s not really exactly understood why the absence of stress can cause a headache.
If you work during the entire week under a certain level of stress and then you try to relax during the weekend, you might get hit with a headache, which is believed to be linked to the relaxation. If this is the case, doing some relaxation exercises when your stress levels are high will help to "even out" the stress. This will result in decreased headaches, since your weekend relaxation won’t contrast too much with your weekdays.
For more help on the prevention, treatment and remedies for migraines please see the Complete Guide To Migraine Headaches.
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