Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffTaking good care of yourself can help prevent most types of headaches.
- Avoid headache triggers. If you're not sure what triggers your headaches, keep a headache diary. Include details about every headache. When did it start? What were you doing at the time? What did you eat that day? How did you sleep the night before? What's your stress level? How long did it last? What, if anything, provided relief? Eventually, you may begin to see a pattern — and take steps to prevent future headaches.
- Get enough sleep. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day — even on weekends. If you're not tired at bedtime, don't fight it. Read or watch television until you become drowsy and fall asleep naturally.
- Don't skip meals. Start your day with a healthy breakfast. Eat lunch and dinner at about the same time every day.
- Exercise regularly. Physical activity causes your body to release chemicals that block pain signals to your brain. With your doctor's OK, choose activities you enjoy — such as walking, swimming or cycling. To avoid injury, start slowly.
- Reduce stress. Get organized. Simplify your schedule. Plan ahead. When the going gets tough, stay positive.
- Relax. Try yoga, meditation or relaxation exercises. Set aside time to slow down. Listen to music, read a book or take a hot bath.
- Quit smoking. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about quitting. Smoking can trigger headaches or make them worse.
