Migraines can be caused by many different factors; some you have more control over than others such as what foods to eat and sleep patterns you follow.
Keep a headache diary to detect patterns and avoid overuse of medication to treat headaches; overdoing it could lead to more frequent episodes and increase dependence.
1. Eat a Healthy Diet
Diet is essential in managing migraine. Eating regular meals containing protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables as well as avoiding skipping meals or becoming dehydrated are both recommended to ensure maximum benefit from migraine prevention. Sugars, processed foods, fried foods cheese nuts may trigger or exacerbate migraine in certain people and should only be tried under medical advice to ensure adequate nutrient absorption.
Diets rich in fatty fish (such as salmon, trout and tuna) have been shown to decrease both frequency and intensity of migraine headaches. Reducing MSG (a flavor enhancer) and artificial sweeteners has also proven helpful. Food triggers vary from person to person so keeping a headache diary or using an app such as My Headache Diary is important to identify your specific triggers; many free downloads include features for tracking food intake, menstrual cycles, weather change and stress.
2. Get Plenty of Sleep
Research has proven the importance of restful sleep as an essential element in migraine prevention. A lack of good quality restful slumber has been found to both trigger migraines and worsen an attack, and interfere with our ability to fall asleep at night. If screen time before bed interferes with sleeping patterns or makes falling asleep difficult for you, try limiting screen time before bed, wearing sunglasses indoors and ensuring lights within your home/bedroom remain dim.
Schedules that promote regular sleep and eating patterns are key in managing migraine symptoms, and sudden shifts in sleeping patterns may trigger migraine attacks. Dr. Starling suggests keeping a migraine diary to identify headache triggers and create a management strategy around them.
Caffeine can also be an aggravating trigger of migraine headaches due to its vasoconstrictive properties; narrowing of blood vessels narrowing them and disrupting your natural vascular control system, which usually keeps them open. Consider eliminating caffeine entirely from your diet or gradually decreasing how often and at what time of day it is consumed.
3. Stay Hydrated
Water intake is essential to health for anyone, but especially important when it comes to managing migraines. Dehydration can trigger migraines in some individuals while headache pain often causes fluid loss through vomiting and diarrhea.
Avoid added sugar by opting for beverages like water and coffee that do not contain sweeteners, although migraine sufferers may find some relief by sipping certain teas and herbal drinks without caffeine; always listen to what your body tells you!
Stay consistent with your hydration plan by drinking the same amount of water each day, and if migraine attacks seem triggered by specific foods or beverages, try eliminating these from your diet to see what effects this has. A migraine diary can also help pinpoint triggers; ensure it includes details about hydration habits!
4. Relax
Relaxation is one of the key strategies for migraine prevention. Stress and anxiety are known to be major triggers, so practicing stress reduction techniques such as paced breathing exercises is critical in order to avoid attacks.
As well as avoiding certain foods that could trigger migraine attacks – alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, aged cheeses, canned foods with MSG and artificial sweeteners, or cured meats can be triggers – it is also wise to keep track of symptoms so as to determine what triggers them and avoid them in future. For this purpose it may help keeping a diary which records them so you can identify what may trigger migraine attacks in advance and then plan your diet to eliminate or minimize them.
Make it more appealing by adding slices of lemon or lime or fruit juice for an appealing beverage that increases how much water is consumed throughout the day.
