The holidays are over, the calendar says that you have to return to the desk, and he suddenly arrives: the headache. It is not a rare case, on the contrary: many people experience what is called “return headache”, a disorder that often does not depend on serious pathologies but on much simpler and more trivial factors, even if annoying.
Because it happens: the main causes
The stress of the return (Post-Vacation Blues)
The transition from free and relaxed days at pace marked by alarm, office, deadlines and traffic can generate a real return syndrome. Tiredness, irritability, drop in attention and headache are among the most common symptoms. Experts call it a condition of adaptation involving the nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-legal axis, that is, the circuit that regulates the response to stress.
The tensive headache
If the pain looks like constant pressure on front and temples, the fault is often of the tensive headache, the most common headache. It can derive from incorrect postures in front of the computer, but above all from muscle tension accumulated due to working stress. The return to the office, with hours in front of the screen and commitments that overlap, is fertile ground for this type of pain.
The biological rhythms on tilt
During the holidays we allow ourselves of everything: you go to sleep later, you sleep more (or too little), you eat in a disordered way, you drink more alcohol and less water. Upon returning, the body must restore its internal watches. The hypothalamus, which regulate sleep, hunger and thirst, struggles to adapt and can trigger headache or worsen already existing migraines.
The most frequent symptoms
The return headache is not the same for everyone, but there are some common alarm bells:
Often these disorders appear together and make it more difficult to resume the routine.
How to deal with it (and prevent it)
Get a “bearing” one day
Returning from the holidays in the evening and presenting himself immediately in the office the next morning is the worst choice. Taking at least one day of transition helps to cushion the shock.
Gradually restore the rhythms
Go to sleep and wake up at regular times, bring order back to meals, to make light physical activity: these small gestures help to realize the biorithms.
Do not overload immediately
A typical error is to want to dispose of all backward emails in a few hours or set too many meetings in the first days. Better to plan calmly and distribute the tasks in a realistic way.
Movement and relaxation techniques
Walking, stretching or simple breathing exercises can lower stress levels and reduce muscle tension. Regular physical activity, even light, stimulates endorphins that have a natural pain reliever effect.
Nutrition and hydration
Drink water, reduce alcohol and excess coffee, privilege fruit and vegetables: simple but fundamental habits for preventing headaches. The prolonged fasts are also to be avoided.
Sleep care
Sleeping too little or too long can trigger headache. Regularity is the key: to go to bed and wake up at similar times helps to stabilize the nervous system.
The return headache is not a mystery and it is not an incurable evil: it comes from the set of stress, altered rhythms and physical tensions. The good news is that little is enough to reduce or prevent it. A gradual approach to work, a healthy routine and a little body care can make a difference.
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