Feel a headache coming on? You could be under stress, say researchers.
A new study proves what most headache had suspected - that having more stress in your life leads to more headaches.
There was a 'clear link' between the amount of stress people's lives and how often they experienced a headache.
Trigger: Scientists say they have proved that stress does trigger headaches, suffered by Desperate Housewives' Star Marcia Cross. She says that reducing stress helped get her migraines under control
Those most seriously affected had a six per cent rise in ‘headache days’, says the study released ahead of the American Academy of Neurology’s 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.
Research by Mintel in the UK found as many as 30.4 million Britons - three out of four adults - claim to have suffered from headaches or migraines in the past six months.
THE LINK BETWEEN MIGRAINES AND STRESS
Susan Haydon, who runs the information and enquiry service at the charity The Migraine Trust, said: 'Migraines and stress are strongly linked.
'Indeed, anxiety, excitement and any form of tension and shock may all lead to a migraine attack.
'However, some people report that their migraines start when the stress reduces.
'This is sometimes experienced as weekend headaches, when, after a busy and stressful week at work, an individual might experience a migraine at the weekend when they relax after being stressed.
'Although stress is often unavoidable, it is important to try to reduce the effects of other migraine triggers during a stressful time, for example by eating regularly and getting adequate sleep, which can also help in dealing with stress.'
For the study, 5,159 people age 21 to 71 in the general population were surveyed about their stress levels and headaches four times a year for two years.
Participants stated how many headaches they had per month and rated their stress level on a scale of zero to 100.
A total of 31 per cent of the participants had tension-type headache, 14 per cent had migraine, 11 per cent had migraine combined with tension-type headache and for 17 per cent the headache type was not classified.
Those with tension-type headache rated their stress at an average of 52 out of 100.
For migraine, it was 62 out of 100 and 59 for those with migraine and tension-type headache.
For each type of headache, an increase in stress was associated with an increase in the number of headaches per month.
For those with tension headache, an increase of 10 points on the stress scale was associated with a 6.3-percent increase in the number of headache days per month.
For migraine, the number of headache days per month went up by 4.3 per cent, and 4 per cent for those with migraine and tension headache.
The results were adjusted to account for factors that could affect the number of headaches, such as drinking, smoking and frequent use of headache drugs.
Study author Dr Sara Schramm, of University Hospital of University Duisburg-Essen in Germany, said it was a vicious circle for many sufferers, with stress triggering a headache, and then the headache making the stress worse.
There is a 'clear link' between between the amount of stress people's lives and how often they experienced a headache. The most stressed people had six per cent more headache days each month, researchers found
She said: ‘These results show that this is a problem for everyone who suffers from headaches and emphasise the importance of stress management approaches for people with migraine and those who treat them.
‘The results add weight to the concept that stress can be a factor contributing to the onset of headache disorders, that it accelerates the progression to chronic headache, exacerbates headache episodes, and that the headache experience itself can serve as a stressor.‘
The results add weight to the concept that stress can be a factor contributing to the onset of headache disorders, that it accelerates the progression to chronic headache, exacerbates headache episodes, and that the headache experience itself can serve as a stressor.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2563733/Its-official-stress-DOES-cause-headaches-pain-causes-stressed.html#ixzz2tu34SqfB
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