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INTRODUCTION

It is of a human nature to have different responses in dealing with significant situations.

Because of this, sometimes, these responds would lead to the development of pain inside of the

head where if it does not undergo remedy, it will bring an excruciating feeling that may result to

the disturbance of the attitude. And as mankind goes along the stages of life, thinking skills

fluctuates and adapts to the field. This results to the so called, headache. (Shyrock, 218)

It is said that a headache is mankind's most common symptom. According to Ethel Nelson,

“this symptom came from the muscles and blood vessels pushing against the nerve endings. And,

this kind of occurrence is considered as an underlying disorder rather than a disease itself”. (125)

But why such natural health problem occurs? Of course, this deals with our thinking in day to day

activities in which is sometimes at the end of the day, usually from work, it would not be avoided

that some people goes home feeling stressed. Tension may also contribute to headache for it

overthinks a brain in the possibility of sudden violence or conflicts. Not only has the environment

had something to do with the headache, also the lifestyle. (Nelson, 125)

As modern technology boosts, our works become easier and faster. However, why are we

becoming more exhausted and agitated? Speaking of exhausted and agitated people, college

students are undeniably one of those.

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College life is never easy. College students have a lot of things to do: review for exams,

make assignments and projects, participate in extracurricular activities, and some do extra jobs.

And due to these factors, the body reacts and will give result to students having headaches. This

maybe a common symptom but should never be ignored. It is always an advantage to have a

healthy body and mind.

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DEVELOPMENT

According to Ernest Christensen that there are types of headache that occur in one’s head.

Some at the minimal level of pain and if there's minimal, severe pain is the opposite. The first type

of headache is called tension headache or also known as muscle contraction. As the name implies

it is caused by the tightening of muscles in the neck and shoulders. (125) Thus, this maybe caused

by too much usage of mobile phones, laptops, computers and other digital materials. Another cause

of this type of headache is the exhaustion of the body: the muscles are overworked leading to the

pain on both the lower parts and upper parts of the body. In an interview with Mr. Psyche Talaboc

Biato, an instructor and a coach of volleyball, he said, “some students tend to exhaust their body

which leads to overfatigue and this is very common to student athletes which results to them

experiencing headache and blurred visions”.

Another cause of headache is stress. College life is full of demands, frustrations, hassles,

and deadlines. Everyone experiences stress as it is a natural part of human life. Our bodies have a

built mechanism for responding to stress. However, during a certain period of time, people tend to

face more stress than usual. One of such periods is college life. It can be very stressful for some

people, especially for those who are not used to carrying out with so many responsibilities.

Students spend most of their time balancing classes, projects, tests, final exams, personal life, and

work; that is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed. This stress can cause multiples problems,

not just emotional, but physicals as well.

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One of the causes of stress college student experience is the adaptation to a new life style.

When students enter college, they are expected to be more responsible and take decisions

themselves. They have no relatives nearby and need to answer for their deeds. Entirely new

environment far from their homes worsens the situation. The students who do not receive financial

aid have to face financial responsibilities. They look for a job combining study and work. In

addition, many experience social stress as they make new relationships which may negatively

influence their college life. Sometimes, students may have difficulties adapting to the social

environment. The second cause of stress results from the important decisions a student is required

to take.

The pain that stress relays on the body may affect the upper part. And as it tightens, the

pain goes up to the head. This type headache results from stressful situation. Another type is called

vascular headache. It is accompanied by throbbing or there is a series of beat. Scientifically, there

is a sense of increased pressure inside the head. (Nelson, 125)

But among the two, there is one type by which most people including medical expert

considered it as the most crushing headache, the migraine. A migraine is an incapacitating

headache recurs periodically. (Beste, 57) The severe type that accompanies blurred vision, flashing

lights and vomiting. Its pain can last up to hours.

In a case study conducted by Mayo Clinic, 1 out of 5 persons maybe affected by migraine.

Personally, some students from Western Leyte College of Ormoc have experienced this type of
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headache. Students said that it is caused by skipping of meals and by stressful activities.

Nevertheless, migraine can be hereditary.

Moreover, various studies have linked a lack of sleep to two different types of headaches:

migraine and tension headaches. Insomnia can make it difficult to fall asleep or can cause you to

wake up early and not be able to fall back asleep. And, there is a growing evidence that lack of

sleep can reduce the body’s pain threshold. A 2015 study found that people with insomnia and

other sleeping issues appear to be more sensitive to pain than those who do not experience these

issues. Consequently, in 2011, researchers from Missouri State University published a study

suggesting that a lack of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is linked to more painful headaches.

REM sleep happens in 90- to 120-minute intervals throughout the night. However, how will a

person maintain to have enough sleep? So, to speak, college students may deprive themselves from

sleep because of countless school works and activities they have to do. Meanwhile, studying the

day before exams is a bad habit that the body may recognize as a normal activity thus changing

the body clock. According to a study, students prefer to review for exams a day before it because

most of the students prefer short-term memory. But it is not advisable to have this study-habit as

this will result to students having tension headache.

Additionally, headache may be caused by hunger. According to Seattle Children’s

Hospital, an estimated 30 percent of people get a headache when they are hungry. Calories in food

are a measurement of energy. Your body needs a consistent energy source in the form of food as

fuel. If you have not anything to eat in a while, your blood sugar levels can drop. In response, your
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body releases hormones that signal your brain that you are hungry. These same hormones may

increase your blood pressure and tighten blood vessels in your body, triggering a headache.

Dehydration and lack of caffeine in the body may constitute and may lead to headache also.

Subsequently, college students skip meals intentionally or incidentally. And, according to a first-

of-its-kind survey released by researchers at Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab, 36

percent of students at 66 surveyed colleges and universities do not get enough to eat. Due to busy

schedules, students tend to forget eating meals, especially breakfast. The lack of sleep leads to

waking up late and waking up late results to rushing for school forgetting to eat breakfast. It may

be observable that students can adjust to this situation and may have their “brunch”, or the

combination of breakfast and lunch. However, our body could not resist to adjust. Thus, it reacts

to sending messages to the brain about pain.

For the side effects of headache, it affects two fields of being a human. First, internal body

disturbances are the result of headache where the development of tender nodules and malfunction

of the digestive system are examples. If not cured, the production of body toxins is another product

headache. Physical and emotional effect such as dryness of the mouth, nausea and vomiting,

double vision and fainting is caused by the headache. The worst effect of headache is it changes

the mood and emotional response where sometimes you cannot do things accordingly. (McMahon.

482)

In an interview with Ms. Trisha Adley Domineque, a Science teacher, she addressed that

though headache maybe of a common symptom, it does not mean that we should neglect all the

possibilities that it may result to a more serious symptom or disease.

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CONCLUSION

But despite of having a headache, there are ways to minimize it effect. Simple, yet suitable

remedies for headache like for the muscle contraction, have a vigorous massage for it stretches

and strengthens the muscle of the neck and the shoulder. Water therapy is best for vascular

headache. Have a lukewarm bath if you experience sleeplessness from ten to fifteen minutes.

Another way is to put a folded hand towel of cold water on the forehead or back of the neck.

Medical procedures may be involved in minimizing the pain of migraine where keeping track of

occurrence and avoiding the cause is one way to reduce. It takes time and patience to find any

dietary involvement to the migraine and consultation of doctor or dietitian in order to know the

substitute for your meal is an effective and genuine way.

And as for college students, there are ways to reduce the occurrence of headaches. In

college, it is important to stay organized. When planning for things and for activities, be sure you

allow yourself the time you need to study and get work done. (Clarke, 3) To stay healthy, it is

important to commit as close to a full 8 hours of sleep as you can. Take advantage of power naps.

Getting adequate shut-eye can help do your best and enjoy yourself more. (Aflo, 3) Additionally,

do not skip meals and be sure to eat well-rounded and balanced meals everyday. It is important to

take note that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Lastly, to relieve stress and become

looser and at ease, getting involved with groups and clubs at school can be an excellent remedy

for college loneliness and anxiety. However, it can be difficult to put yourself there, but having

people to study with, exercise with, communicate with, commiserate with and party with are worth

getting past shyness for and can relieve a lot of college stress.
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Now, it is up to us on how we respond things in life. Remember that it is not good to feel

anxious about everything nor having a bad habit towards food for it causes pain in the head. So,

whenever one self-encounters such problem, just take it easy and think out of the box.
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SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE

These questions are based on my documented essay entitled “Headache: Are You In or Out in
College Life?”. Thus, you may answer the questions as a college student yourself. Please, answer
honestly and with conviction.

Check the spaces provided for the desired answer.

1. Have you ever experienced headache?

___ YES ___ NO

2. How often do you experience headache? (per week)

___ Once a week ___2-4 times a week ___ 5-6 times a week

(per month)

___1-2 times a month ___3-4 times a month ___5-6 times a month

3. For you, what could have been the cause of your headache? You may check all, some or
only one of the choices below.

___ Food/Drinks/Beverages ___ Stress ___ Lack of Sleep

___ Fatigue ___Skipped Meals

4. What are your remedies for headache? How do you treat it?
____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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FINDINGS AND RESULTS

1. With 15 (fifteen) BSA (Bachelor of Science in Accountancy) students of WLC

(Western Leyte College) as respondents, the result shows that all or 100% of the

respondents have answered “yes”; none answered ‘no”.

Students experiencing Headache

YES NO

2. With a total of 15 (fifteen) BSA (Bachelor of Science in Accountancy) students of

WLC (Western Leyte College) as respondents, the result shows that 13 (thirteen) or

87% of the respondents have answered “once a week”; 2 (two) or 13% of the

respondents have answered “2-4 times a week”; none answered ‘5-6 times a week”.
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FINDINGS AND RESULTS

per week
100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%
Once a week 2-4 times a week 5-6 times a week

per week

3. With a total of 15 (fifteen) BSA (Bachelor of Science in Accountancy) students of

WLC (Western Leyte College) as respondents, the result shows that 14 (thirteen) or

93% of the respondents have answered “1-2 times a month”; 1 (one) or 7% of the

respondents have answered “3-4 times a month”; none answered ‘5-6 times a month”.

93%

vv

7%

0%

1-2 times a month 3-4 times a month 5-6 times a month

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FINDINGS AND RESULTS

4. With a total of 15 (fifteen) BSA (Bachelor of Science in Accountancy) students of

WLC (Western Leyte College) as respondents, the result shows that 14 (thirteen)

respondents have answered “stress”; 12 (twelve) respondents have answered “Lack of

sleep”; 7 (seven) respondents have answered “skipped meals”; 3 (three) respondents

have answered “Food/Drinks/Beverages”; and, 2 (two) respondents have answered

“fatigue”.

Causes of Headache

15
10
5
Causes of Headache
0
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WORKS CITED

Solis, Brian. “The Stressful Life of College Students”.

www.bartleby.com/essay/TheStressful-Life-of-College-Students

Shyrock, Harold. “Headache”. Modern Medical Guide, Rev. Ed. (Philippines: Philippines

Publishing House, 1986), p. 218.

Nelson, Ethel. “Oh My Aching Head!”. Eight Secrets of Health (Philippines: Philippine

Publishing House, 1994), p. 125.

Christensen, Ernest. “Oh, My Aching Head!”, Eight Secrets of Health (Philippines:

Philippine Publishing House, 1994), p. 126.

Beste, Johnny. “Food Triggers of Migraines”, The Mayo Clinic, Health and Homes

(March-April 16, 1999), p. 57.

Clarke, Mike. “How to Reduce Stress in College?”, Web,

www.verywellmind.com/college-life-how-to-reduce-stress-3145176

Aflo, Clyde. “Guide to Stress Management for College Students”, Web,

www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/student-life/college-students-guide-to-stress-management-

infographic

“Lack of Sleep Headache: Treatment and More”. Web, www.healthline.com/lack-of-sleep-

headache

Hammond, Nancy. “Hunger Headache: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and Prevention”.

Web, www.healthline.com/health/hunger-headache-2#outlook
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Dewey, Caitlin. “The Hidden Crisis on College Campuses”. The Washington Post,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/04/03/the-hidden-crisis-on-college-campuses

McMahon, Frank, “Headaches”, Psychology and you. Second Ed. (USA: West Publishing

Company, 1995), pp. 482-483.