Seems like I have a lot of muscle tension in my face, jaw, and neck, and I've been trying to sort it out. - Various hypotheses: - Diet - Magnesium deficiency - probably not; I took supplements (magnesium oxide, 400mg) for a month and nothing changed. in any case I think I get enough from dietary sources. - Seed oils - not sure. I eliminated 90% of canola and sunflower seed oil from my diet with no change over six weeks. It might take much longer (6+ months), though, since visible effects may depend on alteration of the cell membrane lipid composition. - Mental factors - I think these are almost certainly the real cause. It's extremely obvious that my tension correlates with mood and stress. - maybe primarily mental + exacerbated by diet or environmental factors (contaminants, posture, etc.) - There's an interesting article, [Principles of Vasocomputation](https://opentheory.net/2023/07/principles-of-vasocomputation-a-unification-of-buddhist-phenomenology-active-inference-and-physical-reflex-part-i/), that tries to provide a mechanism and reason for tension. - Stuff that reduces tension - Running - Meditation - This is the only one that seems to have lasting positive effects. Just a few months of 30 mins/day spent focusing awareness on the tense muscles has significantly reduced the stiffness and pain throughout the day - Sauna - Friendly conversation - Deep breathing, breathwork, wim hof - feeling emotions (anger, sadness etc) instead of suppressing them - Stuff that worsens it - Meeting new people / complex social situations - Work meetings - Stress, frustration - Driving in traffic