How can bad posture cause headaches

If a colleague's perfume is bothering you, put a fan on your desk at work. If you're prone to getting headaches, you could find that grey skies, high humidity, rising temperatures and storms can all bring on head pain. Pressure changes that cause weather changes are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain. This irritates nerves, leading to a headache. How to fix it: There's not much you can do to change the weather. However, by looking at the forecast, you can predict when you're likely to have a headache and make sure you have some painkillers ready for when you might need them.

You can check the weather forecast using the Met Office website. Grinding your teeth at night the medical name is bruxism makes your jaw muscles contract, causing a dull headache.

How to fix it: Your dentist can fit you with a mouth guard to protect your teeth while you sleep. Bright lights and glare, especially if flickering, can induce migraines. This is because bright and flickering lights boost the levels of certain chemicals in the brain, which then activate the migraine centre. How to fix it: Sunglasses are great at reducing light intensity, and you can wear them inside and outside.

Polarised lenses can also help to reduce glare. At work, adjust your computer monitor or attach a glare screen. You may be able to turn off certain lights or move them. If you cannot, change where you sit in the office. Fluorescent lighting tends to flicker, so if you're able to, substitute it with some other form of lighting. Your turkey and cheese sandwich and small bar of dark chocolate might be a tasty lunch, but beware of the headache that could follow it.

All these foods contain chemicals that can bring on a migraine. Other culprits include aged cheeses like stilton and brie, diet fizzy drinks, and processed meats and fish. How to fix it: Keep a migraine trigger diary and once you suspect a certain food may be the cause of your headaches, eliminate it from your diet for a couple of months to see if you get fewer headaches. If you're concerned about avoiding any food-related trigger factor, see your GP or practice nurse or ask to be referred to a dietitian for specialist advice.

The Migraine Trust has more information about keeping a migraine diary. If you are someone who gets stressed and brings their shoulders up to their ears, you do not realize you are doing it until at some point you take a deep breath and relax, which might not happen for a long while.

Your shoulders could have been up there all day which means that your muscles had been working in an inappropriate position all day, and chances are you will not realize it until the headache has started. Here are some common office culprits that cause poor postures. One daily task that cause your shoulder to come up is talking on the phone, whether it is a cell phone or your desk phone.

The longer you talk, the more the shoulder creeps up and some people just outright hold the phone with their shoulder. This causes an even stronger contraction and an even more intense pain. Also if your desk height is too high, that will force you to raise your arms up and therefore cause shoulder elevation. A monitor set at a height that is too low as well as sitting in an unsupportive chair will allow for slumping forward.

Even carrying large bags will cause us to slump forward. Making sure that your desk is set up correctly is half the battle to avoiding this type of tension headache. One of the things that I have my patients do in order for them to break these habits and alleviate the headaches is to set the timer on their phone or computer, for every 15 minutes or 30 minutes and when the timer goes off take quick stock of where their shoulders are and if they are slumping in their chair.

When the alarm goes off it is also a good idea to stand up and allow the muscles to reset. Muscles need blood flow in order for them to function properly and not tighten up. Just standing at your desk for even a minute will allow for increased blood flow and may save yourself a headache. Skip to content Share Icon. It may surprise you to know that headaches can be caused by strain and tension in other parts of your body — often caused by bad posture.

Think about it. From sitting at a computer all day to constantly looking down at our phones, we cause spend a lot of time hunched over or slouched, causing stress and tension in on our necks and backs. Gradually this begins to irritate some of the sensory nerves. When that happens the pain receptors in the neck and head ricochet upwards — causing pain in our neck and shoulder and ultimately in our heads.

If you think you have a cervical headache you should visit a physiotherapist for an official consultation, but in the meantime there are some common symptoms you can look out for. Cervical headaches are often associated with neck pain and stiffness and they can often get worse when you move your neck and head.

You may also feel light headed and find it hard to concentrate.