Headaches are annoying. They irritate you, annoy your co-worker (because you keep snapping at them for no reason), make you less productive and most importantly they are a health risk. Headaches can arise due to numerous reasons, primarily stress, lack of sleep, hunger, poor nutrition, and sitting at a wrong posture while working. About 68% of global work-related issues are due to headaches at office. Many keep a pain-killer handy for such issues, but do they relieve the stress? Or rather they make us addicted to these drugs which are quite harmful in the long run.
Did you know that most of the people, who hardly had headaches earlier, develop chronic headaches due to work stress at the jobs? If you constantly suffer from migraine, cluster and tension headaches, then the problem is your job and the stress it creates on your mental well-being.
First things, first, before getting into the management of headaches at workplaces, lets first get to understand WHAT are the causes of headaches at office:
1. 
Excessive Sitting leads to chronic pain and tension headaches. We all knew that sitting at one place is not good for us, but sitting for longer periods of time causes headache is something we never knew. So, do move on for about 5-10 minutes for every 2 hours. Do not forget to add a lumbar booster to your chair so that you are not adding much stress to your neck and back.
2. 
Skipping Breakfast is one of the primary causes of headaches. Breakfasts are one of the most important meal of the day and you should NEVER skip them, even if you are running late, never skip, or post-pone the timings of your breakfast. Skipping your breakfast will only stress your metabolism and instead disrupt your system- putting you at a very high risk of hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and other chronic diseases. Everyone runs late in the morning- so to avoid skipping your breakfast, try eating oats, or protein shakes or fruit juices and cookies. Prep your breakfast beforehand- probably the night before or on weekends.
3.
Fast food: Regularly eating fast food is a catalyst for weight gain, obesity, cholesterol and migraines. If you almost always run late for work in morning, pack your lunch the night before- it will help you as home-made food are always preferable to anything from office canteen.
4. 
Staying “locked up” inside the office all day is depressing and it robs you of the oxygen your brain needs. The air inside your office is up to 100 times dirtier than the outside air. It is true even more as all of us are exposed to numerous unhealthy and toxic gases, toxins from air conditioning, toxic particles, bacteria, viruses and moulds all mixed up in the air inside your closed office. So, it is all the more important for you to get up and go for a walk OUTSIDE during your breaks.
5. 
Over-working or working beyond 10 hours a day constantly is a major trigger for tension headaches. Most of the people, prefer working late into the nights as one actually does get more work done when your colleagues or co-workers are not around. Do NOT over work and stress yourself for getting a work done. Try finishing the work within stipulated time and within your office timings. Working late disrupts your biological clock which interrupts with your sleep-wake cycle besides the secretion of leptin, the hormone that helps in curbing your appetite is decreased causing one to over eat. Over-working is also one of the major cause for sleep deprivation. As one cannot give enough time for their sleep, they are always sleep deprived and irritable.
6. 
Dehydration is one of the major causes that trigger headaches. Always drink water, as it does help in preventing headaches and other minor issues at work. Instead of drinking water all at once, keep sipping on small quantities every 10-15 minutes. Also, it is not necessary to keep sipping only water, you can alternate it with fruit juices, flavoured waters, green tea and fibrous fruits that will help in compensating the fluid in the body.
7. 
Staring at the screen regularly and continuously strains your eyes and causes chronic headaches and irritation. Try moving your eyes every 10-15 minutes, as your eye muscles need proper exercise as well. It will also help you in de-stressing your neck and shoulder.
By: Archa Dave
