Do you sometimes feel like there is a knot in your head? Do you sometimes feel and hear the blood flowing around your skull? Do you have times where you stand up and feel like you got to sit back down again? Headaches plague a lot of us, yet we don't really know how they happen. Here are 5 surprising things (some that we do on a daily basis) that might explain why we get headaches.

1. Smartphones

Watching videos and scrolling through Instagram might seem fun in the moment, but it actually puts a huge strain on our eyes when we concentrate on a screen, especially when you put the screen too close to your eyes (which many of us do). Straining our eyes for long periods of times can actually lead to a headache. Now I know that staring at screens the entire day is essential for some people's work, so a good way is to take a break every half an hour and stare at something in the distance for about 30 seconds.

2. Caffeine Withdrawal

If you are someone who drinks coffee or tea on a daily basis, you might not want to stop taking them all of a sudden. This is because caffeine causes our blood vessels to narrow and the lack of it will cause a sudden widening and increased blood flow. Caffeine withdrawal can not only cause headaches, but also other symptoms such as fogginess and being irritable. If you really do plan to stop, you can slowly cut down the amount or frequency of caffeine intake until you stop.

3. Bad Sleep

We all know when we've had a bad night of sleep. We wake up feeling groggy, tired, and possibly aching all over. One of the reasons for bad sleep is the wrong mattress and pillow. Based on how you sleep, we should select the kind of pillow and mattress that keeps our spine straight and neutral throughout the night. Otherwise, the night-long strain will leave us with tension in our neck and back muscles causing tension headaches.

4. Painkillers

That's right! The thing you eat when you have a headache, that's what might be causing your headaches too. Painkillers should only be taken every once in a while when you have a really bad pain, but if you take them frequently just to get you through some minor discomfort, it will result in medication overuse headaches. The only way to stop this is by stopping the painkillers, but if you really do have consistent headaches, you should probably consult a doctor.

5. Things You Wear On Your Head

This includes headphones, ponytails, headbands, caps, goggles and anything else that squeezes the head for long periods of time. This can lead to compression headaches. The things you put on your head puts pressure on the nerves around your head causing it to send a signal to your brain which then tells you that you are having a headache.

So, these are 5 causes of headaches that you probably didn't know cause them. Sometimes, you really gotta trust your mom when she says you're looking at your smartphone too much! The information here is taken from Doctor Mike, whom you can check out here.