Next-Level Headache Hacks

Plus: the five pillows of restful sleep

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The 10almonds Team
February 11, 2024

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

❝You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late❞

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

  • The sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle may seem like all it does is turn your head, but it has a big part to play for several adjacent features

    • Amongst these are several important nerves (including the vagus nerve) and the carotid artery.

    • See today’s main feature for how to use this knowledge to quickly relieve many kinds of headache, migraine, eye-ache, tension and pain in the jaw, and more.

  • Doesn’t it feel a bit brutal sometimes when the dentist is scraping off plaque?

    • Today’s sponsor, LIVFRESH, have developed a gel that safely dissolves plaque without harming the teeth or gums (this is such an impressive breakthrough that we included a link to the actual science in the sponsor section; check it out!)

Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive

🤫 A WORD TO THE WISE

The Sleepy Girl Mocktail

The viral “Sleepy Girl Mocktail” is backed by science. Should you try it? And if so, how? Dr. Charlotte Gupta gives pointers:

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

How to sleep like a baby? The five pillow theory. Master Mu Yuchun (6:58)

This is not too complex and if you don’t care for the explanation, you can just skip to near the end to see the final positions of the pillows. Alternatively, enjoy the whole video:

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

❓ MYSTERY ITEM

Word Of Mouth

Hint: this technological marvel makes a famously hard-to-keep-up chore so easy you’ll always have cause to smile

DID YOU KNOW…

…that you can reply to any of our emails?

We love to hear from our readers—in fact, we actively encourage it. We want to make our content as relevant to your needs and interests as possible.

So, please do click reply to this email and send us any questions, feedback, or requests!

🤯 MAIN FEATURE

A Muscle With A Lot Of Therapeutic Value

First, a quick anatomy primer, so that the rest makes sense. We’re going to be talking about your sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle today.

To find it, there are two easy ways:

  • look in a mirror, turn your head to one side and it’ll stick out on the opposite side of your neck

  • look at this diagram 😉 

(we’re going to talk about it in the singular, but you have one on each side)

This muscle is interesting for very many reasons, but what we’re going to focus on today is that massaging/stretching it (correctly!) can benefit several things that are right next to it and/or behind it, namely:

  • The tenth cranial nerve

  • The eleventh cranial nerve

  • The carotid artery

Why do we care about these?

Well, we would die quickly without the first and last of those. However, more practically, massaging each has benefits:

The tenth cranial nerve

This one is also known by its superhero alter-ego name:

The eleventh cranial nerve

This one’s not nearly so critical to life, but it does facilitate most of the motor functions in that general part of the body—including some mechanics of speech production, and maintaining posture of the shoulders/neck/head (which in turn strongly affects presence/absence of certain kinds of headaches).

The carotid artery

We suspect you know what this one does already; it supplies the brain (and the rest of your head, for that matter) with oxygenated blood.

What is useful to know today, is that it can be massaged, via the SCM, in a way that brings about a gentler version of this “one weird trick” to cure a lot of kinds of headaches:

How (And Why) To Massage Your SCM

…to relieve many kinds of headache, migraine, eye-ache, and tension or pain the jaw. It’s not a magical cure all so this comes with no promises, but it can and will help with a lot of things.

In few words: turn your ahead away from the side where it hurts (if both, just pick one and then repeat for the other side), and slightly downwards. When your SCM sticks out a bit on the other side, gently pinch and rub it, working from the bottom to the top.

If you prefer videos, here is a demonstration:

How (And Why) To Stretch Your SCM

The above already includes a little stretch, but you can stretch it in a way that specifically stimulates your vagus nerve (this is good for many things).

In few words: stand (or sit) up straight, and interlace your fingers together. Put your hands on the back of your neck, thumbs-downwards, and (keeping your face forward) look to one side with your eyes only, and hold that until you feel the urge to yawn (it’ll probably take between about 3 seconds and 30 seconds). Then repeat on the other side.

If you prefer videos, this one is a very slight variation of what we just described but works the same way:

Take care!

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Dissolve plaque, without harming teeth/gums

LIVFRESH make some bold claims:

  • ❝We have made the first breakthrough in the dental industry since 1914.❞

  • ❝LIVFRESH performs 250% better at removing plaque than a market leader❞

The first claim is about using molecular nanotechnology instead of abrasion, to remove plaque. The claim is worded a little strongly, but it genuinely is a major breakthrough.

The second claim... We love randomized clinical trials! So we looked it up, and found it:

Now, the sample size was small (33), but the results were overwhelmingly positive. And the test group had a worse gingival index than control, before starting—and much better afterwards:

In other words, the competition was stacked against the product, and it still won clear. With this in mind, we're very happy to recommend LIVFRESH's edathamil*-based dental gel!

*That's their patented formula that breaks down plaque on a molecular level, without damaging teeth.

It comes in multiple flavors, so you get two links today:

If you're unsure which to go for, we recommend the peppermint, as it has fewer ingredients, and is a true gel rather than a foaming gel.

PS: 10almonds subscribers can use code DENTAL20 for 20% off at checkout 😎

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

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📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Reasons to Stay Alive – by Matt Haig

We’ve previously reviewed Matt Haig’s (excellent) The Comfort Book, and now it’s time for his more famous book: Reasons To Stay Alive. So, what’s this one, beyond the obvious?

It narrates the experience of anxiety, depression, and suicidality, and discovering how to find beauty and joy in the world despite it all. It’s not that the author found a magical cure—he still experiences depression and anxiety (cannot speak for suicidality) but he knows now how to manage it, and live his life.

You may be wondering: is this book instructional; is it reproducible, or is it just an autobiography? It’s centered around his own experience and learnings, but it gives a huge sense of not feeling alone, of having hope, and it gives a template for making sense of one’s own experience, even if every person will of course have some points of differences, the commonalities are nonetheless of immense value.

The writing style is similar to The Comfort Book; it’s lots of small chapters, and all very easy-reading. Well, the subject matter is sometimes rather heavy, but the language is easy-reading! In other words, just the thing for when one is feeling easily overwhelmed, or not feeling up to reading a lot.

Bottom line: whether or not you suffer with anxiety and/or depression, whether or not you sometimes feel suicidal, the contents of this book are important, valuable insights for everyone.

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Wishing you a very happy Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon!), and a restorative weekend too,

The 10almonds Team