If you ignore that pulsing, throbbing pain in your head long enough, it’ll go away eventually — right?

While it’s hopefully just a small headache, a migraine is usually recurring and severe enough to make you feel nauseous or sensitive to light. If left untreated, migraines can last for up to 72 hours.

Migraines are diagnosed by how often they occur and for how long. There is no absolute cure because its pathophysiology, or what causes it to occur, has yet to be fully understood. But you can treat the symptoms and help prevent them with some lifestyle changes — after consulting with your doctor, of course.

June is National Migraine Awareness Month, so Mashable spoke to neurologist and New York University’s clinical assistant professor Dr. Audrey Halpern about our addiction to technology, and how it might contribute to headaches or migraines.

1. Staring at a digital screen

Staring at digital screens, whether its your mobile device or laptop, for long periods of time can be attributing to you experiencing headaches.

Sixty percent of Americans spend at least six hours a day staring into a screen — it’s no wonder that digital eye strain is believed to be the cause of many unnecessary headaches. Dr. Halpern suggests taking breaks from whatever device it is that hypnotizes you, or at least limiting yourself to a half hour at a time and buying an anti-glare screen protector.

2. Straining our necks

Looking down at your phone or slumped at your desk for hours could be straining your neck and causing migraines, according to Dr. Halpern. She says the relationship between neck strain and migraines is very complex.

She suggests finding ways to improve the ergonomics in your work place. It could be as simple as improving your posture, such as adjusting the height of your chair, desk or computer screen.

3. Constant interruption

“Something that’s not to be ignored is the constant interruption that mobile devices bring to us now,” Dr. Halpern says. “It’s virtually impossible to get away from work and stressors.”

Dr. Halpern believes that never taking a mental break from work makes us more stressed, which is thought to be a headache trigger because it causes muscle tension.

Though Dr. Halpern suggests logging off devices around 8 p.m., she realizes that will probably never happen. So she recommends at least practicing stress-relieving methods such as yoga or meditation.

4. Bright light

If the last thing you do before hitting the hay is stare at your phone, you may be impairing your sleep cycle, which makes you tired and more stressed during the workday. (Seriously, cut it out.)

“Our bodies are supposed to start winding down and not have this bright stimulating light,” she says. “Clearly, there could be some component with eyestrain.”

Electronic lights like your laptop charging or leaving the television on may also keep you awake at night. Dr. Halpern believes that you should leave all electronics out of the bedroom and to sleep in near-total darkness.

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