1% Thursday: Moderate.

Too much of a good thing is still too much.  One danger for everyone, but especially for these dealing with chronic headache or migraine, is the danger of being immoderate in something – doing too much, eating too much, and so on.

This week, keep an eye out for signs that you might be going overboard with something.

Here are two ways this can be a danger.  First, ongoing problems – like constantly overeating, consuming too much salt, eating too much junk food.  Believe it or not, even drinking too much water can put extra strain on your body.  Then there’s the more obvious issues like smoking or drinking too much alcohol, which can make your symptoms worse both in the short term and over the long haul.

Another common migraine trigger is simply a quick change in your body – staying up all night, skipping breakfast one day, suddenly starting strenuous exercise.  Migraineurs tend to be especially sensitive to these kinds of changes.  Sometimes we even jump into a new treatment too fast – making matters worse.

Sometimes patients can even crave something that makes things worse, such as craving chocolate or citrus fruits before an attack.  Before you do a lot of anything, stop yourself and take it slow.

Take a quick inventory – are there ongoing habits that need to be changed?  Or are you prone to jump into something with both feet that’s causing undue stress on your body?  Just noticing and taking things a bit slower may make that 1% difference for you.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better.  Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge.  Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!