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    The following simple exercise routine works as well as prescription medication  (药物治疗 ) without the side effects.

    A jog a day could keep your headaches at bay: Regular cardio workouts(有氧锻炼) may prevent migraines (偏头痛 ) , a growing body of research suggests.

    Migraine patients had fewer headaches after doing 40-minute cycling workouts three times a week for three months, according to a Swedish study.

    The exercise routine worked just as well as one of the top migraine-preventing drugs-topamirate but without the side effects of depression and tremors(刺激 ).

    Cardio workouts can help with regular headaches, too, says Alexander Mauskop,M.D. ,director of the New York Headache Center in Manhattan.

    There are a couple of theories on how it works.

    Breaking a sweat may relieve stress, says Dr. Mauskop. Headaches are often triggered by stress, and if you remove the trigger, you release the pain.

    The feel-good chemicals produced when you exercise actually block your pain sensors, acting as a natural painkiller.

    Since headaches can be caused by many different factors like genetics  (遗传 ),lack of sleep, or certain foods, cardio won't be the solution for everyone, Dr. Mauskop says. But one German study found that it helped 65 percent of patients, which makes it as effective as the best medicines on the market.

    Dr. Mauskop recommends his patients do a half-hour reasonable intensity  (强度 )cardio, like jogging, biking, or swimming three times a week. These workouts are meant to be slow and steady, as opposed to high-intensity intervals that alternate between all-out runs and rest.

    Pushing yourself too much or increasing the intensity too quickly can trigger headaches in some people, so make sure your heart rate doesn't jump above 150 BPM. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, then breathe only through your nose. You 'Il know you're going too hard if you can't keep up that breathing pattern.

    Your migraines could start disappearing in a couple of weeks, Dr. Mauskop says.