THE WAKE-UP HEADACHE
By: Lauren Anderson
So… every day this week I’ve woken up with a headache. Like, a really bad one.
One that wakes me up from a deep sleep, 15 annoying minutes before my alarm goes off. (Insult to injury). And it hurts so bad, it’s hard to open my eyes. And I desperately want to take some ibuprofen or something, but I can’t on an empty stomach… so it’s a “quick find something in the fridge I can shove in my mouth” breakfast, then pills, then 30 minutes wondering WTF is going on.
The first day I thought it was a fluke, but then by day 3 and the headaches were still arriving, I thought I better investigate. I started with the usual suspects.
At first I didn’t think much of it. I mean, spring is about to get sprung. And if I know anything, that means allergies are about to pop out and latch on like someone’s weird auntie at a baby shower. And just like that auntie, they will stay too long and inevitably make you feel like crap.
And no, this hasn’t happened to me in real life… ahem.
But ever since I’ve managed to change a majority of my eating habits, and remove some of the more inflammatory foods (skills I learned at Solcana’s Essential You class!)from my day to day life– I swear I finally made my allergies my bitch. It’s true! Unless I’m hanging out at a house with a cat in it, I rarely take an allergy pill. Which is new territory, considering old Lauren was popping an Allegra on the daily.
Am I still allergic to pollens and dander and grass? Why yes. Yes I am.
And yes, it IS a very sexy quality, thank you very much.
But I think I’m able to manage those other allergies better because my body isn’t over-taxed by processing the food I eat. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. But I’m pretty sure there’s some significant science to back that up. Just ask any nutritionist anywhere! Or you can just TRUST ME. Because I have that kind of face.
(But seriously… don’t just trust me… look it up! This is what the internet is for.)
So, the headaches aren’t allergies… Oh! I know! It’s the way I’m sleeping! Yeah! That’s gotta be the culprit. I mean, I am a rather aerobic sleeper at times. And I’ve been known to fall asleep wearing my glasses more times than I take them off. Not to mention the crazy contortions I can get my neck into.
So the next night, I made sure to plump my pillows and take my glasses off, and actually put myself to bed properly. Something I am not the best at, but I’m working on.
The next morning, I woke up in the EXACT same position I fell asleep in. And you guessed it, it was 15 minutes before I was supposed to, with a HUGE freaking headache. C’mon!
Wait, maybe that’s it?! Am I sleeping too still? After I stop laughing, I check that possibility off the list. I recognize that last night’s frozen sleep was the outlier, not the norm. And still not the cause of my major headaches.
It has to be something else! But what? WHAT?!?! What the heck is going on here?
I do more investigation.
Am I eating too much salt? Well, I did just get back from a BBQ-filled trip to the Lone Star state. But that was days ago! Am I getting sick? No, other than these headaches I feel fine. Is it stress? Am I stressed out? Well, I have been busier than normal lately, but it’s all been more of a blessing than a curse.
Then what the heck is it?!
At this point, I’m at about day 5 or 6 of these headache-y mornings, and I’m not proud to admit this, but I turned into a big whiney baby. As someone who doesn’t get headaches that often, this was starting to scare me a little.
My step dad used to get really bad migraines and he would get sick to his stomach and just have to lay in bed in the dark all day. It always sucked to have to see him like that. I remember thinking as a kid, “Man, I hope I never get one of those.” In my adult life, I’ve only had two migraines that I can recall, and kid Lauren was right to fear them. They are no joke.
So the fear crept in. What if I’m a migraine sufferer now? What if it’s a brain thing? Oh man! What if my brain is dying?!?! What if this is just my life now, and I’ll never ever wake up with out a headache again?!?!
And even worse still, what if I HAVE TO GO TO THE DOCTOR?!?!?!
I sat down on the edge of my bed, resigning myself to call the doctor and make an appointment. I reached over and grabbed the glass of water by my bedside and took a gulp. Ahhhh. “Wow, that tasted so good.” I thought. I mean, that was more refreshing than usual. I took another swig. Then I chugged the last of it.
Wait a second… when is the last time I drank any water?
OH. MY. GAWD. Was I getting headaches because I haven’t been drinking enough water?!
I do a mental check list. I have been traveling, and when I travel– I always get dried out. And I’ve been having a little more cocktails lately than I normally do. Cause I normally don’t drink very much at all– but hey– what can I say? I’m in a mood.
Combine that with extra long hours at work, more caffeine than usual, and suddenly those glasses of water are being replaced with yet ANOTHER cup of coffee. Not to mention the show I’m in is pretty active, and I’m running around for two hours straight. Happily hoofing it for the paying audience.
But when I get done, I’m not necessarily taking precautions to replenish water in the bod.
But but but… my er, how should I say this? Number Ones? Have been pretty clear… or have they? Wait a second. When is the last time I went to the bathroom?
OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!! As someone who usually hits the head more times than I care to admit, there’s only one conclusion to make. I’M DEHYDRATED!!!
I immediately drink a 20oz of cool water. I can feel my forehead loosen it’s vice grip, and my eyes open up. I can feel my skin relax. I can actually feel my disposition move from brittle to supple in a matter of moments. I can’t believe this. I mean, I can… cause DUH. But I can’t believe I did this.
Anderson, you fool! Wake up! How could you overlook the simplest explanation?
Well, ever heard of something called Occam’s Razor? Basically, it states that the simpler theory is more likely to be true. Which in this instance basically means, “Before you schedule a MRI because your brain is dying from the black plague, drink a glass of water and calm the frick down.”
I am happy to report that after being intentional with my water intake for the rest of the day, I could feel my brain get less cloudy, and when I woke up the next morning– YUP YUP. NO headaches.
I had to laugh at myself. I spent 6 days in agony. Losing sleep because I literally thought I was losing my mind… I thought all around the problem without trying the easiest solution first. There are any number of reasons why I missed this, but one keeps coming to mind the most.
I think we, as people, are complicated. And because I know how complicated I am, I think sometimes I overlook or disregard things because they seem too easy. Too simple. I think, “No… that can’t possibly be enough!”
I know I talk a lot in this blog about challenging myself to do the hard thing. The workout that punches above my weight class, the new experience that could change my life, or even the brave conversation that says what’s the most true. But I think in my quest to to tackle the hard stuff, sometimes I may do myself a disservice by overlooking the easy steps too.
Like forgetting to feed my body a simple, yet vital life force like H2O.
I had a therapist once that called this “Steps for Mastery”. She proposed setting up small things I could do each day that I could accomplish. Then the act of tackling these small tasks would help me feel more masterful in my life, and that would embolden me to tackle some harder challenges/ bigger life goals.
EXAMPLE: Before I clean out my garage, first go through the mail on my desk. Before I spend hundreds of dollars on a teeth-whitening kit, first make sure I floss every day. Before I take on the responsibility of a pet, can I keep a plant alive? You know, MASTERY STUFF.
But before I do any of that, before I attempt to master anything at all, I think I’m going to take 3 minutes, and sit here quietly and feel grateful that the headaches are gone. And drink the rest of this water.
It’s the least I can do.
Because sometimes doing the least, really does the most, ya know?