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Health Hazards of Homework

March 18, 2014 | Julie Greicius Pediatrics .

A new study by the Stanford Graduate School of Education and colleagues found that students in high-performing schools who did excessive hours of homework “experienced greater behavioral engagement in school but also more academic stress, physical health problems, and lack of balance in their lives.”

Those health problems ranged from stress, headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems, to psycho-social effects like dropping activities, not seeing friends or family, and not pursuing hobbies they enjoy.

In the Stanford Report story about the research, Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of the  study published in the  Journal of Experimental Education , says, “Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good.”

The study was based on survey data from a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in California communities in which median household income exceeded $90,000. Of the students surveyed, homework volume averaged about 3.1 hours each night.

“It is time to re-evaluate how the school environment is preparing our high school student for today’s workplace,” says Neville Golden, MD , chief of adolescent medicine at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and a professor at the School of Medicine. “This landmark study shows that excessive homework is counterproductive, leading to sleep deprivation, school stress and other health problems. Parents can best support their children in these demanding academic environments by advocating for them through direct communication with teachers and school administrators about homework load.”

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How to Avoid Getting a Headache When Studying

Find why you might get a headache from studying.

If you’re getting ready for that big exam by cramming the entire textbook into one night of studying, be forewarned: A headache may be in your future.

First off, it’s true that college students are vulnerable to headaches. In a self-reported study of more than 300 university students in Brazil, 87% of participants reported experiencing headaches, mostly tension-type and migraine headaches . 1

Second, everyone’s headache triggers are different. But there are a few known headache and migraine triggers that might come up when studying for the big test.

For instance, long-term use of a computer or reading for long periods can cause eyestrain. Moreover, in some people, a symptom of eyestrain is headaches.

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Stress over making the grade — and pulling consecutive all-nighters to do so — doesn’t help either. Stress is a known trigger of tension headaches and migraines. In fact, in recent research of more than 5,000 participants (presented at the 4th European Headache and Migraine Trust International Congress), it was found that an increase in stress was directly correlated with an increase of headaches, and that these effects were higher in younger age groups. 2

Additionally, lack of sleep can trigger headaches and migraines in some people. And the two together — stress and irregular sleep patterns — can really impact your head pain. One small observational study of chronic tension headache and migraine sufferers found that two consecutive days of either high stress or low sleep were “strongly predictive” of a headache. 3

Avoiding Triggers

There are some tips that can help students survive the semester with fewer headaches. Take frequent study breaks to reduce eyestrain, find a comfortable chair, etc.

Souza-e-Silva HR, Rocha-Filho PA. Headaches and academic performance in university students: a cross-sectional study. Headache. 2011 Nov-Dec;51(10):1493-502.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22082420 .

Schramm et al.: EHMTI-0143. The association between stress and headache: a longitudinal population-based study. The Journal of Headache and Pain 2014 15(Suppl 1):F23.

http://cep.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/12/05/0333102414563087.abstract .

Houle et al.: Stress and Sleep Duration Predict Headache Severity in Chronic Headache Sufferers. Pain. 2012 Dec; 153(12): 2432–2440.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3626265/ .

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Is too much screen time the cause of your headache?

Author: Kevin Weber, MD

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• Neurological Institute

Spending a large amount of time in front of a screen has become a societal norm, but all that screen time can take a toll on your health. Long days looking at a computer screen followed by even longer nights binge watching television can worsen any underlying headache problems you may have.

When you have a headache, the pain and pressure it causes in the head can make it difficult to function. Headaches may come on suddenly or develop gradually overtime resulting in sharp pain, a dull ache or a throbbing feeling. They may last a few hours to a few days.

Types of headaches

If you suffer from migraines – a type of headache that causes severe throbbing or pulsing pain on one or both sides of the head – screen time can aggravate any associated light sensitivity. Eye strain, brightness, blue light and screen flickering can be migraine triggers.

Another type of headache – cervicogenic headache – is when a problem in the neck causes pain in the head. Cervicogenic headaches often start at the base of the skull and radiate up one side of the head. Poor posture at your workstation can worsen cervical muscle inflammation and tightness, which can in turn exacerbate cervicogenic headaches.

Ways to prevent headaches

There are ways to prevent these types of headaches. They include:

• Exercise good posture : A physical therapist can evaluate your seated posture as well as your computer screen and keyboard positions to help you set up a good ergonomic workstation. 
• Use a screen guard : You can reduce the brightness and glare of the computer screen by using a guard.
• Wear blue light glasses : Filtering out blue light with a pair of glasses may reduce eye strain but more research is needed.  
• Take a breaks : Frequent breaks every 20 to 30 minutes to allow your eyes to rest can help with screen fatigue.

When to see a doctor

If you experience frequent headaches, they become more severe, they don’t respond to over-the-counter medications or they prevent you from the activities of daily living, it may be time to schedule an appointment with your primary care provider. Your doctor can work with you to create a plan to treat and prevent future headaches.

Kevin Weber is a neurologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and an assistant professor of neurology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

• Find out what screenings you need and make an appointment with your primary care provider today. Learn more

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10 headache triggers

It's not just stress and nasty colds that cause headaches. Cleaning your home or sleeping in late can cause them too. We reveal 10 headache triggers and how to fix them.

1. Relaxing after stress

You put in 10-hour days from Monday to Friday and you feel fine, only to wake up after a lie-in on Saturday with a pounding headache. Why is that?

It's because as the tension of the week subsides, your levels of stress hormones drop, which causes a rapid release of neurotransmitters (the brain's chemical messengers). These send out impulses to blood vessels to constrict and then dilate, which causes a headache.

How to fix it: Avoid the temptation to sleep in at weekends. More than 8 hours' sleep at a time can bring on a headache. Introduce some relaxation time, such as a yoga class, into your working week, rather than squeezing it all into the weekend.

2. Pent-up anger

When you're angry, muscles in the back of your neck and scalp tense up, causing a tight band-like sensation around your head. This is a sign of a tension headache.

How to fix it: When you start feeling angry, breathe deeply and slowly. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. This should relax your head and neck muscles.

Read more about how to control your anger .

3. Poor posture

Poor posture causes tension in your upper back, neck and shoulders, which can lead to a headache.

Typically, the pain throbs in the base of the skull and sometimes flashes into the face, especially the forehead.

How to fix it: Avoid sitting or standing in one position for long periods. Sit up straight and support your lower back. Consider using a special headset if you spend a lot of time on the phone, as holding a handset between your head and shoulder can strain muscles and cause headaches.

You could also see a physical therapist, such as an osteopath or Alexander technique practitioner.

They may be able to help you identify and correct any posture problems.

If you think housework is giving you a headache, you could be right. Household cleaners, along with perfumes and fragranced air fresheners, contain chemicals that can bring on headaches.

How to fix it: If you’re susceptible to headaches brought on by certain smells, avoid heavy perfumes and strong-smelling soaps, shampoos and conditioners. Use fragrance-free air fresheners and household cleaners, and keep your doors and windows open as much as possible at home. If a colleague's perfume is bothering you, put a fan on your desk at work.

5. Bad weather

If you're prone to getting headaches, you could find that grey skies, high humidity, rising temperatures and storms can all bring on head pain.

Pressure changes that cause weather changes are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain. This irritates nerves, leading to a headache.

How to fix it: There's not much you can do to change the weather. However, by looking at the forecast, you can predict when you're likely to have a headache and make sure you have some painkillers ready for when you might need them.

You can check the weather forecast using the Met Office website

6. Grinding teeth

Grinding your teeth at night (the medical name is bruxism) makes your jaw muscles contract, causing a dull headache.

How to fix it: Your dentist may recommend a mouth guard or splint, which you wear at night to protect your teeth while you sleep.

Read more about teeth grinding .

7. Bright lights

Bright lights and glare, especially if flickering, can induce migraines. This is because bright and flickering lights boost the levels of certain chemicals in the brain, which then activate the migraine centre.

How to fix it: Sunglasses are great at reducing light intensity, and you can wear them inside and outside. Polarised lenses can also help to reduce glare.

At work, adjust your computer monitor or attach a glare screen. You may be able to turn off certain lights or move them. If you cannot, change where you sit in the office. Fluorescent lighting tends to flicker, so if you're able to, substitute it with some other form of lighting.

8. Food triggers

Your turkey and cheese sandwich and small bar of dark chocolate might be a tasty lunch, but beware of the headache that could follow it. All these foods contain chemicals that can bring on a migraine. Other culprits include aged cheeses like stilton and brie, diet fizzy drinks, and processed meats and fish.

How to fix it: Keep a migraine trigger diary and once you suspect a certain food may be the cause of your headaches, eliminate it from your diet for a couple of months to see if you get fewer headaches.

If you're concerned about avoiding any food-related trigger factor, see your GP or practice nurse or ask to be referred to a dietitian for specialist advice.

Remember to eat regularly, because skipping meals can bring on a headache.

The Migraine Trust has more information about keeping a migraine diary

9. Sex headaches

It's a standing joke that headaches are used as an excuse to avoid sex, but for many men and women coital headaches that come on at the height of passion are a real and distressing problem.

Doctors think sex headaches are due to pressure building up in the head and neck muscles. The headaches can happen during foreplay or just before orgasm, and can last for a few minutes or up to an hour.

How to fix it: They’re inconvenient, but these headaches are usually harmless and do not mean you have to avoid sex. Take a painkiller a few hours beforehand to block the headache.

10. Ice cream

Do you get a sharp, stabbing pain in your forehead when you bite into an ice cream cone? Then you're susceptible to ice cream headaches, caused by cold material moving across the roof of your mouth and the back of your throat. Ice lollies and slushy frozen drinks have the same effect.

How to fix it: The good news is that ice cream headaches do not need treatment. In fact, they're over in a flash, rarely lasting more than a minute or two.

Page last reviewed: 17 April 2024 Next review due: 17 April 2027

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College Students and Migraine Triggers

October 30, 2021

Migraine University

Migraine in college students is often caused by stress, anxiety, fatigue, and diet. The National Headache Foundation (NHF) supports college students who experience migraine and headache through Migraine University. The program provides advice on healthier lifestyle choices that can help deter headache triggers, including:

• Take frequent breaks from studying to avoid eyestrain caused by textbooks and computers
• Consider getting blue light blocking glasses or installing an antiglare screen on your monitor.
• Opt for more natural light and avoid/remove fluorescent lights.
• Use “night mode” on your devices or download light filtering apps for your phone and computer.
• Look away from your screen at least once every 20 minutes to let your eyes rest.
• Find a comfortable chair to avoid neck and back pain that can lead to headache
• Drink caffeine in moderation, since caffeine overuse can cause headache
• Maintain a consistent meal and sleep schedule; do not fast or skip meals, and  have healthy snacks available for a quick bite between classes.
• Determine if you have any dietary triggers. Elimination diets are an excellent way to identify problematic foods. Exclude only one food item at a time and carefully track the results in a migraine diary.
• Maintain a well-balanced diet full of leafy greens, colorful vegetables, and protein
• Drink alcohol in moderation, hydrate with water in between drinks, and eat foods high in fructose to avoid hangover-related headaches in the morning
• Avoid dehydration and drink plenty of water. Invest in a reusable water bottle.
• Drink coffee and alcohol in moderation.
• Practice relaxation techniques to help relieve daily stress and anxiety
• Incorporate yoga or exercise into your daily routine

Mid-term exams and upcoming finals can result in less sleep, more stress, and increased caffeine consumption, all of which are migraine triggers. Click here for more information on negotiating college while living with migraine disease.