Migraine can be a debilitating condition, threatening your quality of life and hindering progress in everyday tasks. But with proper management strategies such as prescription, diet, supplements and natural treatments, migraine symptoms can be managed and attacks prevented.
Limit over-the-counter pain relievers to reduce the likelihood of headaches or make existing ones worse, and speak to your physician about migraine medicines known as gepants that help relieve pain, light sensitivity, and sound sensitivity without leading to medication overuse headaches.
1. Stay Cool
Multiple factors may trigger migraine attacks, including bright light, loud noises and strong odors. Even if these factors don’t act directly as triggers for you personally, they could still worsen symptoms during an attack.
Staying cool can help prevent migraines. Avoid hot environments, maintain a regular sleep pattern and use noise-canceling headphones or earplugs to block out sounds that might trigger headaches.
Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated and avoid beverages with added sugar, caffeine or alcohol, which may contribute to dehydration by constricting blood vessels causing pain and nausea.
If you begin to experience migraine-like symptoms, relax in a dark and quiet room. Over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen and aspirin may provide temporary relief, but be wary not to overdose with them as this could result in medication overuse headaches.
2. Get Plenty of Sleep
Migraine pain often results in insomnia, making it harder for sufferers to sleep at night – further aggravating migraine symptoms. A recent study demonstrated a correlation between sleep deprivation and increased migraine frequency.
Migraines disrupt your brain chemical known as adenosine, which acts to slow down excitatory networks in your mind and induce sleepiness. A migraine’s increased levels of adenosine can be traced back to this issue.
To enhance your quality of restful slumber, aim for consistent bed and wakeup times each night, avoid daytime naps, and limit caffeine intake. If you have difficulty falling asleep, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT) might help. Nerve stimulation or transcranial magnetic stimulation might also work. You could also try taking supplements such as riboflavin, coenzyme Q10 feverfew magnesium butterbur – though butterbur may impact liver enzymes)
3. Avoid Triggers
Some migraine sufferers experience moderate to severe throbbing pain when certain triggers come into play, making their symptoms even worse. Examples may include skipping meals, eating foods with additives or high fat content, drinking too much alcohol or caffeine and changing weather patterns – just to name a few!
If you can identify your personal migraine triggers, it may be possible to avoid them altogether. But be wary; simply avoiding all common triggers may not work – instead try other coping strategies instead, such as meditation, biofeedback and relaxation training; yoga or exercise; therapy (if applicable); as well as medications prescribed by doctors that could potentially worsen migraine.
4. Eat Right
As part of a healthy eating regimen, proper eating may help prevent migraines. One approach is keeping a food journal, which can identify potential triggers as well as any specific items or beverages which make migraines worse.
Dietary triggers for migraines often include alcohol, processed meats and aged cheese. Furthermore, deficiencies in magnesium could also play a part in leading to migraines in some individuals.
Diets that include fresh fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains and lean proteins should be followed for optimal health, along with foods containing Omega-3 to reduce inflammation and alleviate migraine pain. Avoidance of specific foods does not guarantee migraine prevention in everyone, so make sure you consult your physician prior to making major dietary changes.
5. Relax
Heat and Cold Therapy may help ease chronic migraine situations by drawing blood away from the head, helping ease any associated discomfort. You could also try engaging in creative pursuits like painting, writing, knitting or woodworking; keeping a journal of migraine days that occur along with any diet changes, medications taken and weather fluctuations could also provide useful insight. Eventually this information can help identify patterns and triggers.
Keep in mind that too much caffeine can actually give rise to headaches; try restricting yourself to one or two cups per day as opposed to drinking several.
