Sometimes I feel like a subject expert from the inside out. This is one of those topics. I get migraines. My children get migraines. Two of my children have eye issues that cause headaches after a minimal amount of reading or text work. The cherry on top is my oldest who must deal with long term headaches. Yes, we know brain pain.
Headaches can derail learning swiftly. It is hard to wrap your mind around a new subject or try to recall information when your eyes are throbbing.
Let’s throw out a warning here that needs to be heard. If you experience an intense headache that involves weakness of one side of your body, sudden inability to speak clearly, or sudden loss of coordination seek medical help. Don’t fall into the idea that only the elderly have strokes. I am 34 I have had a stroke. Pediatric and teen strokes are not rare. They happen and need to be dealt with swiftly.
Children’s Hemiplegia and Stroke Association, CHASA
Headaches will most likely come from these more mundane causes:
Eye problems
Lack of sleep
Stress/anxiety
Physical (muscular or alignment) problem
Poor study space (low lighting or light glaring)
Noises
Food Allergies
The key to stopping of controlling the headaches is to find the trigger. Once you have found the trigger you can eliminate it, or treat it as best possible. There will be times that there is no clear cut reason for long term headaches, such as my daughter. She has needed a neurologist’s help and medicine to control the headaches.
In your homeschooling you can try some of these tips to combat headache triggers:
Softly colored paper
Do not sit directly in front of a window (full sun causes glare)
Try ear plugs for the auditory sensitive
Size up the text work or get a magnifying page
If headaches persist try charting them. See if you can find a pattern after a week. This works really well if the issues is food allergies. You will see a pattern of headaches 20 minutes to a couple of hours after the offending food is eaten.
Prayers for your homeschooling journey! May it be pain-free!
