Why You Experience Headaches During Vacation

By Stephen M

Experiencing bouts of headaches during a vacation has become a common phenomenon now. We used to think we were alone in this until we read other people’s accounts. Many factors contribute to this, including:

A let-down headache

Let-down headache usually happens in people with margarine. It occurs when your stress level suddenly drops. As you go on a vacation, it means your usual daily hustle is no more, and the body is in a relaxed mode, which is when a let-down headache strikes. You can avoid a margarine-induced let-down headache by having enough sleep and spending enough time with a loved one before a vacation.

Altered sleep pattern

This usually happens when your vacation is in a country/state with a different time zone. This affects your circadian rhythm resulting in sleep disruptions and accompanying headaches.  Aside from that, it is always challenging to have your usual sleep schedule on the first few days of a vacation. Being in a new environment, a different room. Keeping to your daily routine and maintaining your sleep time can help in such circumstances. Admittedly, this can be difficult if the time zone difference is more than three hours.

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A build-up of smaller stressors

Ideally, we go for a vacation to release stress, relax, and prepare for a new working season. However, several factors can affect this ideal situation, including your car breaking down, a forced landing, and other unforeseen/unplanned circumstances. The frustration you go through during this time can result in a headache. You can reduce the impact by remaining calm, listening to cool tempo music, or reading.

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Dehydration

Dehydration is one of the major causes of headaches. A slight loss of body water can result in a severe headache. Change of environment, especially to temperate zones, can lead to losing body fluid faster. Since vacations are generally in summer, you should always keep hydrated to avoid vacation headaches.