Self-Help for Headaches
Next time you get a nagging headache, try a little fingertip therapy. You might feel better more quickly.
- Your temporalis muscle: With your index and middle fingers, apply pressure to your temporalis muscle. It's that tender spot where you feel a muscle move when you clench your teeth.
- Behind your ears: Using your thumbs, massage in a circular motion the spots just underneath the large bones behind your ears.
- Between your eyes: With your middle finger and thumb, gently pinch the skin just above your nose and press upward so you feel the pressure around your eyebrows.
- The web of your hand: Use your thumb and index finger to squeeze the fleshy pad of skin between the thumb and index finger on your opposite hand.
Here are three more quick ways to destress your head.
Stress isn't all bad. Short-term, it can help you meet a deadline, turn a double play, or keep your bumper from getting crumpled.
But when stress lingers like week-old leftovers, it's time to pull the plug with a quick stress-busting technique like scrunching, breathing, or corking. Here's how to do 'em:
Quick Fix
Chronic stress can destroy your sleep patterns, boost the rate at which your arteries age, and turn your immune-system function down too low. But you can quickly rein in stress with these tricks:
Chronic stress can destroy your sleep patterns, boost the rate at which your arteries age, and turn your immune-system function down too low. But you can quickly rein in stress with these tricks:
- Scrunch your face tightly for 15 seconds, then release. Repeat several times. Repetitive contraction and relaxation helps release tension you're holding above the neck.
- Breathe in, lick your lips, and then blow out slowly. The cool air helps you refocus and slow down
- Cork it. Hold a wine cork vertically between your teeth (some people may first need to slice a bit off the top before it will fit). A gentle bite on the cork will force your jaws -- a major tension-holder -- to relax.
