Headaches are one of the most common conditions which people all around the world suffer from. It is estimated that nearly 50% of the world’s population have suffered or are suffering from headaches.
According to a list released by the World Health Organization, It is ranked as the top 10 (in men) and top 5 (in women) causes of disability. Headaches may come and go, but there is no doubt that there are unusual causes that trigger this painful condition.
Here are some of those causes which you might not have even thought would be the reason why you’re having such a bad headache:
1Sunlight and Vitamin D Deficiency
Studies from the University of Eastern Finland reveal that the risk of chronic headaches is increased if your body is lacking vitamin D. The serum vitamin D levels were analyzed, by scientists, in nearly 2,600 people. It was found that people with low levels of serum vitamin D were susceptible to developing chronic headaches, more so than others. Frequent instances of chronic headaches were reported by men after being examined in seasons other than summer. This was due to the fact that the solar radiation is much less in other seasons as compared to summer.
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2Bright Light
Sometimes bright light can be the unusual stimulus to headaches and people experiencing this will retreat to dark rooms to avoid the light. Studies conducted by the Beth Israel Medical Center have been successful in identifying the novel connections between both neurons in the eyes as well as those in the brains. These neurons are also responsible for controlling our mood in physical parameters like fatigue, the heart rate, nausea and shortness of breath. Besides headaches, bright light also causes anxiety, anger, annoyance, and desperation. In fact, participants of the research revealed that they experienced shortness of breath, discomfort, and nausea.
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3Thunder and Lightning
To determine whether lightning caused the frequency of headaches to increase or if other weather factors were responsible, mathematical models were used by the scientists within the University of Cincinnati for this. The tests, after factoring in all weather conditions, indicated a 19% higher chance of getting headaches on days with lightning. This showed that lightning does affect people’s chances of getting headaches. It is still unclear as to why lightning and meteorological factors such as barometric pressure and humidity trigger headaches, as pointed out by Geoffrey Martin. However, these studies have still been able to prove the connection between lightning and how it can cause headaches.
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4Depression and Anxiety
The most common reasons for what causes headaches are depression, unhealthy sleep, and anxiety. Studies from the National Defense Medical Center in Taiwan have also pointed out that a common pathophysiological mechanism causes the frequency of headaches to be influenced by emotional distress. This can be better understood by how certain signaling pathways causes pain perception and modulation to be altered by emotional responses. In fact, the outcome of this research has offered suggestions on how treating headaches might prevent anxiety and depression in patients suffering from migraines.
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5Medicines Containing Codeine
An Adelaide University study found that consuming large doses of codeine-based medicines can potentially increase the risk of serious headaches. Patients with a high sensitivity to pain experience frequent headaches. In fact, users of opioid drugs only further decrease their tolerance for pain thereby making them unable to get any real relief. Since pain sensitivity is a major issue for them, opioid drugs only worsen their problem.
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