Migraine attacks are almost unknown in young kids. However, as we grow the chances of developing migraine also grow.
Why?
Studies show that most people acquire migraine either in teens or later. Many experts believe that hormonal changes that occur in our body while we are growing are the reason why migraine attacks begins in teen years. I don’t refute this theory, but I also believe that this is not the only reason. Hormonal changes may play a role in the development of migraine in teens, but it is certainly not the biggest culprit.
Migraine is caused due to insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain. Improper breathing and sitting for long hours is the main reason why migraine begins in teens. You see, when we are young, we are always doing some sort of a physical activity, such as running, playing, jumping et al. But, as we reach teen, most of our time is spend in sitting in uncomfortable chairs, be it in the classroom, in front of a computer, playing video games or watching TV. Sitting for long hours and improper breathing technique contributes heavily to insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain, which, in turn, is the root cause of migraine.
There are four reasons due to which our brain becomes oxygen-deprived.
1. Improper breathing - Most of us take shallow and small breaths. As a result of which, only the upper part of our lungs is filled with air. The upper part of lungs is smaller than the lower part, and this basically means that we fill only use a part of our total lung capacity when we breathe.
2. Blood cells get only a small percentage of oxygen we breathe - Improper breathing has two negative effects. Firstly, we inhale less oxygen, and secondly, only a portion of the oxygen we breathe goes into the blood stream.
3. Stiff neck muscles - One of the functions of the neck muscles is to help our heart in pumping the blood to the brain. But, when the neck muscles are stiff or tense they do the opposite by blocking the oxygen carrying blood cells from reaching brain.
4. Stiff brain muscles - Again, brain muscles are supposed to help in circulation of the blood in the oxygen. As in case of stiff neck muscles, stiff brain muscles hinder the smooth flow of blood in the brain.
Now, are you wondering what this has got to do with long-hours of sitting we do in our teen years?
The answer is pretty much everything.
The main reason why we don’t breathe deep enough is because we have little control on muscles around our breathing passage. Also, many of us unconsciously use these muscles for performing other functions. For instance, most of us use the diaphragm muscle to balance our upper body when the primary function of this muscle is to expand our lungs to enable us to breathe deeper.
When we sit for long hours and maintain improper body posture, our back muscles get weak. As a result of which, other muscles in our body, including the muscles around the breathing passage need to chip in to perform functions that were originally supposed to be done by back muscles alone. Due to this, our breathing passage does not get expanded enough, and a result of which we take shallow and small breaths. As a result, less oxygen enters our lungs when we breathe, and even lesser oxygen reaches our blood stream. Also, because of improper body posture, our neck muscles become stiff or tense. And, as I mentioned above, stiff muscles block the smooth flow of oxygen carrying blood cells towards the brain.
There are other factors also that contribute to the development of migraine in teen years. The emotional stress that we experience in teen years also plays a big role in the development of migraine. For many people, the teenage years are the toughest phase of their lives-a time when they are trying to fit in or figure out life. Many teenagers, because of stress and anxiety, unconsciously develop the habit of freezing and they stop breathing for several seconds when face-to-face with tough situations. This habit can be self-damaging and trigger repeated migraine attacks.
What is the solution?
The solution is to ensure that your brain gets adequate amount of oxygen all the time. To achieve this, you need to make sure that only the right muscles are used for a task. This is the only way we can prevent and cure migraine and other headaches.
I’ve designed simple exercises that ensure we breathe deep and blood flows efficiently through to our brain. To check out these exercises, see my natural migraine and headache exercises program.
Warm Regards,
Christian Goodman
PS: The programs mentioned in this article are listed on the right-hand side of this page.
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