As a bit of a self-made expert on headaches, I am pretty sure that it’s not the thinking that’s causing the headache, but rather unconscious physical tension associated with perceived strenuousness of the activity.
Tension in your neck muscles, temples, jaw, etc. can be practically impossible to notice consciously. You can be totally unaware that you’re experiencing it. It can ramp up and initiate a headache quite easily, especially if you’re the type of person susceptible to such.
You may have associations between the things your thinking about and stress. Personally, I notice that thinking about stuff that I’ve been procrastinating on (which I don’t really want to be thinking about) feels miserable and manifests itself as physical tension. But I can think intensely about other things for hours without negative effects, if I want to be thinking about those things.
(Edit: Also, if you’re “thinking really hard” it’s pretty likely that you’re sitting in one position for too long. Holding still is shockingly bad for human bodies. We’re supposed to be moving around almost constantly. Sitting and staring at one thing for an hour induces an incredible amount of muscle fatigue in the neck, eyes, etc.)
Yeah, the overall update I’ve gotten from this thread is to install a trigger-action for “notice muscle tension while thinking, relax muscle tension”. (At least a fair chunk of my muscle tension while thinking is totally noticeable as soon as I pay any attention)
As a bit of a self-made expert on headaches, I am pretty sure that it’s not the thinking that’s causing the headache, but rather unconscious physical tension associated with perceived strenuousness of the activity.
Tension in your neck muscles, temples, jaw, etc. can be practically impossible to notice consciously. You can be totally unaware that you’re experiencing it. It can ramp up and initiate a headache quite easily, especially if you’re the type of person susceptible to such.
You may have associations between the things your thinking about and stress. Personally, I notice that thinking about stuff that I’ve been procrastinating on (which I don’t really want to be thinking about) feels miserable and manifests itself as physical tension. But I can think intensely about other things for hours without negative effects, if I want to be thinking about those things.
(Edit: Also, if you’re “thinking really hard” it’s pretty likely that you’re sitting in one position for too long. Holding still is shockingly bad for human bodies. We’re supposed to be moving around almost constantly. Sitting and staring at one thing for an hour induces an incredible amount of muscle fatigue in the neck, eyes, etc.)
Yeah, the overall update I’ve gotten from this thread is to install a trigger-action for “notice muscle tension while thinking, relax muscle tension”. (At least a fair chunk of my muscle tension while thinking is totally noticeable as soon as I pay any attention)
I’ve had similar experiences and I think this is part of it.
Eye strain potentially, too.
Yep. Recommended links:
https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/trigger-points.php
https://smile.amazon.com/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Workbook-Self-Treatment/dp/1608824942/
This works super well for me but not everyone I’ve recommended it to likes it; I’m passing it along anyway because it seems like a safe alternative to deep massage in the back of the head where critical arteries are present: https://smile.amazon.com/HemingWeigh-Complete-Acupressure-Pillow-Bonus/dp/B00ECEQEE6/