My boyfriend suffered from severe sinus headaches for years after living in a house, in his late teens, that he describes as "unsanitary." Sure, he and his roommate were guys living on their own, probably flaunting their newfound freedom from overbearing mothers by not cleaning up as much as they should have. They didn't realize that such irreverence might have long-term effects on their health.

It Can Be Mental, Too -

J. admits that personal stress was probably also a contributing factor to the headaches. How many of us haven't gotten a headache after a stressful day? How many of us have at some point said, "Please stop doing that-you're giving me a headache"? We might mean it figuratively, but body and mind work really closely together on this one. I'm pretty sure there have been times when I didn't actually have a headache until I announced that someone was giving me one-and suddenly my head was about to split open with pain.

Other Causes -

Lack of sleep, dehydration, fever, and low blood sugar can cause headaches. Too much alcohol and too little caffeine can cause headaches. What it all boils down to in the end is stress of some sort: stress on the body, stress on the mind, or a combination thereof. Most times, it's a combination, because usually bodily stress and mental stress go hand in hand.

How Do We Fix It? -

Supposedly dogs take on the personalities of the people with whom they live. A mean dog probably lives with mean people. I would say that headaches are also products of their environment, because environment affects us all more than most of us are ready to admit. Yeah, I mean the hole in the ozone layer and global warming, but I also mean on a smaller scale, like how much mold and dust and pet dander are in our houses.

This physical environment puts stress on our bodies, which can put stress on our minds that is additional to the daily stress our minds are probably already under from work, school, other people, and whatever else. Moreover, the stress on our bodies makes our bodies less able to deal with the stress on our minds. We get overtired and sick. Most of all, we get headaches.

I would say that the solution is surprisingly simple. Note that I didn't say easy: I said simple, which is different. We simply need to take better care of our bodies so that they can support our minds, and vice versa. But changing our habits in order to accomplish this might be easier said than done.

I would advise starting small-pick one thing, and it's amazing how it can snowball. Make an appointment with a chiropractor, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, or an herbalist. Find out what kinds of exercises can strengthen your body, and what vitamins and nutrients can enhance bodily functionality-including but not limited to the immune system.

If you currently suffer from headaches, I would bet that as you incorporate these stress-fighting habits into your life, your headaches will gradually disappear altogether.