Headache and migraine Archive

Mindfulness might help improve attention and memory. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment, including thoughts, feelings, and all information coming in from the senses, such as sights, sounds, and smells. Many studies have shown that mindfulness helps people improve well-being, concentrate, engage more effectively in daily activities, and pay more attention. Attention is the most crucial factor when it comes to memory; whatever someone pays attention to is what he or she remembers.

Studies show that women's pain experiences are often minimized, dismissed, or undertreated by clinicians. Women and men perceive pain differently. Factors contributing to women's undertreatment for pain include lack of objective pain measures, uncertain diagnoses, clinician bias, and how women are socialized. Women can ensure their pain is taken seriously by communicating closely with clinicians about expectations, stating they recognize their pain may not be 100% relieved, and doing their own research on possible reasons for pain.

Approximately 50 million adults experience some daily pain. These people usually encounter fluctuations in pain during the day, but in many cases, the pain worsens at night, disrupting sleep. Many strategies can be adopted to prevent and manage nighttime pain, such as doing a pre-bedroom relaxation routine, creating a healthy sleep environment, reframing negative thinking, changing sleeping positions, and using supportive pillows.

A small 2025 study found that older adults who did six months of weight training improved their ability to recall recent events and information. They also had had less brain shrinkage in regions affected by Alzheimer's disease, compared with people who did not do the training.

Dancing is a popular leisure activity. Evidence suggests dance boasts all the same benefits as other forms of consistent aerobic exercise: lowering blood pressure, building muscle and bone, increasing aerobic capacity, reducing anxiety, and improving depression symptoms. Dance can also counter loneliness and isolation and be easier to stick with than exercise that's more repetitive. People who want to try dance can frame it as a hobby instead of exercise, take a group class, and modify dance movements to accommodate pain or limited mobility.

Super-agers are people who reach their 80s, 90s, or beyond with the memory capacity of someone at least three decades younger. As people get older, certain brain regions shrink, slowing brain functions. But super-agers retain more brain volume in areas linked to memory and movement, and their brains shrink more slowly over time. Women are more likely to be super-agers because they live, on average, longer than men. Genetics also appear to play a significant role in achieving super-ager status.

A 2025 research review suggested that women with certain gynecological disorders, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, heavy periods, and irregular menstrual cycles, have higher risks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

Researchers have found that the risk of death due to Alzheimer's disease is markedly lower in taxi and ambulance drivers compared with hundreds of other occupations. And the reason could be that these drivers develop certain structural changes in their brains as they work.

Headaches happen to people every day, and about 4% of Americans report being bothered a great deal by them in the past three months. Only a tiny percentage of headaches indicate a serious underlying problem. Red-flag signs include headaches occurring with other symptoms; new headaches in people over 50; headaches that get worse with exercise, sex, coughing, or lying down; and "thunderclap" headaches that involve rapidly worsening head pain. People experiencing these signs should seek prompt medical attention.