Ah, the view from my beach chair last week. Oh how I miss that little thatched roof gazebo on the water. I disappeared last week to this beautiful place and left all my worries behind. I spent seven days without a computer, phone service or children. You would have thought it would have been more of a shock to my system than it was. I adapted quite nicely to absolutely no responsibilities. When your biggest stress is what to eat for breakfast, you know you have it good.
Stress reduction is key to overall health status. At least most normal medical personnel will give you such advice. The first neurologist I saw as a result of my migraines basically poo-pooed my stress stating that "women in war-torn countries may suffer from stress...not women in suburban Tulsa".
When under acute stress our bodies release cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that help when stress is acute so that we can either fight or flee the stressful encounter. However, when our bodies experience chronic stress everyday during our normal routines i.e. bad employers, chronic pain, child-rearing, driving in traffic, and the list goes on. This chronic exposure to hormones over time damages blood vessels due to inflammation. There are numerous studies available chronicling the benefits of vacation on heart disease. I would argue the benefits of decreasing the inflammation of blood vessels goes beyond just heart disease and extends to a variety of disease states--migraine being one of them. A study by Gretchen Tietjen out of the University of Toledo found that a third of study participants with migraines had blood vessel damage, which was five times higher than the control group. The verdict is still out on the exact cause of migraines, but most helpful medications for migraines reduce vessel inflammation.
Remembering that traveling itself can be and issue for the migrainuer, proper planning is a must. Adequate sleep and hydration are vital the days prior to a tropical destination. Unless of course your lucky enough to be in driving distance from such a location. That first travel day is always kind of a struggle for me...probably due to sleep alterations (if it's an early flight), barometric pressure changes, and yes-- stress (and not the stress endured by women of war-torn countries, but stress endured by women with migraines who have their passport and flight ticket taken from them by a Spanish-only speaking security worker and told they were randomly selected for an extra security screening).
But once I am beach side listening to the sounds of the ocean the stress seems to disappear. For seven days my worries become which bathing suit to wear to the beach, which book I should read, whether to swim in the ocean or the pool, or whether or not "Frank the Iguana" will be there to greet me when I head home from the beach. Everyone should be lucky enough to endure the above listed stresses for at least one week a year.
Stress reduction is key to overall health status. At least most normal medical personnel will give you such advice. The first neurologist I saw as a result of my migraines basically poo-pooed my stress stating that "women in war-torn countries may suffer from stress...not women in suburban Tulsa".
When under acute stress our bodies release cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that help when stress is acute so that we can either fight or flee the stressful encounter. However, when our bodies experience chronic stress everyday during our normal routines i.e. bad employers, chronic pain, child-rearing, driving in traffic, and the list goes on. This chronic exposure to hormones over time damages blood vessels due to inflammation. There are numerous studies available chronicling the benefits of vacation on heart disease. I would argue the benefits of decreasing the inflammation of blood vessels goes beyond just heart disease and extends to a variety of disease states--migraine being one of them. A study by Gretchen Tietjen out of the University of Toledo found that a third of study participants with migraines had blood vessel damage, which was five times higher than the control group. The verdict is still out on the exact cause of migraines, but most helpful medications for migraines reduce vessel inflammation.
Remembering that traveling itself can be and issue for the migrainuer, proper planning is a must. Adequate sleep and hydration are vital the days prior to a tropical destination. Unless of course your lucky enough to be in driving distance from such a location. That first travel day is always kind of a struggle for me...probably due to sleep alterations (if it's an early flight), barometric pressure changes, and yes-- stress (and not the stress endured by women of war-torn countries, but stress endured by women with migraines who have their passport and flight ticket taken from them by a Spanish-only speaking security worker and told they were randomly selected for an extra security screening).
But once I am beach side listening to the sounds of the ocean the stress seems to disappear. For seven days my worries become which bathing suit to wear to the beach, which book I should read, whether to swim in the ocean or the pool, or whether or not "Frank the Iguana" will be there to greet me when I head home from the beach. Everyone should be lucky enough to endure the above listed stresses for at least one week a year.
"Frank The Iguana"
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