Do you ever feel like your head is throbbing or the room is suddenly spinning, and you can’t orient yourself? If so, you could be dealing with headaches or vertigo. Even the smallest changes in your daily routine can cause you to experience common types of head pain. To keep your head in the game and your life from feeling like a constant blur, we’ve researched 10 daily activities or environmental irritants that could cause vertigo and headaches to pop up when you least expect it.
Certain foods can cause you to experience headaches or vertigo symptoms at a moment’s notice. Some foods will cause your body to have an immediate response similar to an allergic reaction where you experience a splitting headache, nausea, or feel like the room is spinning. Common culprits for foods that can cause headaches include chocolate, peanuts, potato chips, pizza, and fermented ingredients like cheese.
Foods that have artificial smells or sweeteners can also cause you to experience headaches and nausea. Even crunchy foods that cause you to chew with extensive effort can cause you to experience headaches and jaw issues if you’re not careful.
One way to avoid eating foods that can cause headaches or vertigo shortly after eating is to keep a record of the foods you eat and when. Writing down when you eat, how much you eat, and if you have any reaction throughout the rest of the day can help you identify those trigger foods that could potentially cause you headaches and help you avoid them in the future.
There is no shortage of beverages and unhealthy drinks that can cause you to experience headaches. Beverages with high sugar content like soda, energy drinks, and energy booster combinations are common culprits for headaches. While these sugary beverages might be able to give you the boost of energy you desperately need, they can also cause your body to elicit a negative reaction./p>
Other beverages that can cause you to experience headaches or vertigo include your favorite order of coffee that comes with an extra espresso shot and a triple dose of flavor syrup. Research is still ongoing to determine the extent of the connection between caffeine and headaches, but the sugary additives to your favorite coffee order can cause you to experience headache symptoms. Even switching to a new diet where you cut your intake of caffeine overnight can cause headaches from the withdrawal.
In the same way you would track your food intake, it can be a good idea to track which beverages you consume, how often, and if there are any reactions throughout the day. Keeping a diary of your food and beverage consumption will help you identify what kind of foods you might want to stay away from and if you’re consuming things outside of the recommended nutrition guidelines.
Individuals with difficulty during allergy season can also experience headaches and vertigo from related reactions including sneezing frequently, congestion, fatigue, dizziness, and nausea. Allergies can worsen when performing activities outdoors since the chance of exposure is higher.
Strong odors are a common cause for headaches. Household chemicals, perfume, and cologne often have warning labels detailing how they might cause negative reactions. Some individuals might experience reactions to certain types of smells but be comfortable with others. Being in a room with limited airflow or working closely with co-workers who have strong perfume or cologne can cause you to heighten your body’s reaction to the smell.
Stress can play an important role in how your body responds to certain events, including your normal work routine and the people you interact with. Stress headaches, or more commonly referred to as tension headaches, can be a leading contributor of headaches in our daily lives. Oftentimes, these persistent headaches will feel like pressure on the sides of your head and can last for extended periods of time.
Work stress can even cause headaches when you’re doing other activities outside of the office and begin to think about the upcoming workload or going into the office the next day. This type of stress can also keep you up late at night which can cause you to lose sleep and compound the headache pain and frequency.
If you believe that work stress is the cause of your headaches, there are several things you can do to decompress including meditation, exercising, physical therapy, and working with your employer to reduce or adjust your workload.
Headaches and vertigo can also be the result of a recent change in sleep patterns. Your brain, like any other important function of your body, needs time to rest and recover. As creatures of habit, whenever your sleeping pattern abruptly changes or is disrupted due to events like the work stress we outlined above, your brain can respond with a headache. This signal is often a way for your brain to communicate with the rest of your body that it needs to slow down and recover.
In addition to headaches, a lack of sleep can prolong recovery periods from other injuries which is why it’s essential to get the recommended amount of sleep each night.
Stepping into an environment where the lighting conditions have changed can also cause headaches and vertigo. Blinking, bright, and patterned lights can all cause eye strain and disruptions with your depth perception. Light conditions can also include the area where you work and the devices you use. An example can include working at a desk all day with a bright monitor in a dark room. Changing light conditions and frequent eye strain can cause you to lose your spatial awareness and cause your headaches to get worse over time.
Another common headache-inducing activity is exposure to loud noises and music. Our ears are sensitive to a lot of different things which is why changes in volume and frequency of the noise around us can be one of the most common reasons that individuals experience headaches. Listening to music at loud volumes for extended periods of time or hearing the same pattern repeatedly can cause different types of headaches including tension headaches and migraines. Headaches that stem from loud noises can occur instantly or be the result of prolonged exposure.
Prescriptions and other types of medication can also be the cause of headaches and vertigo. These symptoms can be the result of combining multiple different types of medication at the same time or having an adverse reaction to a new addition. Negative reactions from medications can also stem from taking too much at one time or excessive use over an extended period.
Nearly every prescription and medication comes with warning labels and use directions that should be closely followed to avoid any type of negative reaction. If you believe that your medication is causing your headaches or vertigo symptoms, you should consult with your doctor.
Tense, stiff, and strained muscles can also be a leading cause of headaches. Stiff and strained muscles can build up over time in the same way that stress can build up over time. On a subconscious level, our bodies respond to the signals we send it, and one of the ways our bodies can respond is by tensing up. Over time, this can lead to stiff muscles in your neck, jaw, back, and shoulders. These stiff muscles can then cause radiating pain that trickles to your head and will progressively feel like a tension headache.
These types of headaches are often the result of sitting in an uncomfortable position with bad posture for extended periods of time, pushing through an injury that hasn’t recovered, or an external contributor like work stress.
Physical therapy is an effective treatment option for individuals who experience headaches and vertigo. If you find that you’re dealing with headaches or vertigo symptoms, schedule an appointment at one of the hundreds of Results PT clinics across the country. Our licensed physical therapists are trained in evaluating, addressing the underlying issues, and educating you about your headaches and vertigo symptoms.
Schedule an appointment today at a nearby Results Physiotherapy clinic to treat your headaches and vertigo!
