We have heard a thousand times all the benefits of exercising: it improves fitness and physical resistance, helps maintain body weight, increases self-esteem and reduces stress among millions of other things. However, we are rarely warned that excessive exercise can also have serious health consequences, and one of them is headaches.
If you are one of those who spends hours and hours locked up in a gym doing weights, running or riding a bicycle, you have probably ended up experiencing a strong and intense headache more than once that makes you lose all the desire to continue getting in shape.
The reasons why the head hurts when exercising
This type of headache is known as a primary exertional headache and is a type of tension headache that causes severe discomfort on both sides of the head. Its symptoms are similar to those of migraine: sensitivity to light and loud noises, nausea, vomiting, etc. It usually appears the more we exert our body and its duration varies depending on each person.
Our body is very intelligent and, as such, it has various ways of letting us know that something is wrong. One of them is a headache, so if you experience it frequently when you are doing sports, it is time to stop doing it for a moment and pay attention to the different signals that your body is sending you:
Dehydration
Sometimes, when we are in the gym, we concentrate so much on the exercises we are doing that we completely forget to drink water or, even worse, we think that hydrating ourselves when we finish carrying out the activity will be enough. A big mistake! Headaches are the body’s way of warning you that you are losing much more water than you are replacing. The best way to avoid dehydration, especially on days when it is hotter, is to take short breaks between exercises in order to replenish fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat.
Inadequate breathing
When exercising, a large number of people tend to hold their breath and even begin to breathe inappropriately, that is, they stop inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. This bad practice increases when we are also congested since unconsciously and given the difficulty we find in the respiratory tract; we usually choose to breathe through the mouth. For this reason, it is essential that before going to the gym, we try to clear our nose by means of nasal washes with seawater, which will help us to be less congested during physical activity. In this way we favor that the intercranial pressure, which already increases with exercise, does not end up causing an annoying headache.
Hypoglycemia
Having low blood sugar levels can be one of the great reasons that leads us to suffer from headaches while exercising. Glucose is one of the main sources of energy for the body, so if we subject it to overexertion and also have not ingested the necessary amounts of it to cope with it, we will have a high chance of ending up suffering from this type of headache. To prevent it, it is essential that we follow a healthy diet that includes foods with a sufficient and recommended amount of sugar, such as pieces of fruit.
Overexertion
Knowing how to listen to our own body is very important so as not to overreach ourselves when practicing sports. Making an extra effort, continuously and without proper preparation, can end up causing fatigue and headaches linked to muscle tension in these areas. For this reason, it is essential that we do not set instant goals, but that we work progressively so that our body gets used to this practice and responds better and better to it.
Incorrect body posture
When exercising, especially when lifting weights, it is essential to maintain a correct posture throughout the duration of the exercise. Not adopting the proper position could end up leading to a headache or, what is worse, a serious contracture.
Tips to calm tension headaches when practicing sports
If you start to get a headache while practicing sports or doing physical exertion, it is best to stop immediately. Little by little the ailment will disappear. If the discomfort continues after the exercise has finished, you can take a pain reliever that your doctor has prescribed and that is appropriate for headaches.
If your headache is caused by poor posture, try to correct it immediately. You can also go to a physiotherapist so that, through a massage, you decrease muscle tension and with it intracranial tension.
How to avoid headaches when exercising?
If you plan to go to the gym and do physical exercise for a long time, it is essential that you follow these tips to avoid tension headaches. Take note!
First of all, you must hydrate yourself correctly before starting to practice physical activity, while you do it and once you finish the exercise.
Eat isotonic drinks that contain sodium as this avoids losing a lot of fluids when we do sports.
Do not exercise on an empty stomach, but neither after a large and abundant meal.
To prevent blood pressure from rising, it is advisable not to wear tight or too hot clothing as it accelerates the increase in our body heat.
It is not advisable to practice sport or physical activity in hot contexts or under the sun.
Always maintain a correct body posture.
Something that may seem very obvious, but that many people often forget is that you should not exercise to exhaustion. This is not recommended for your head or for your health.