An active lifestyle, including exercise, adequate rest and proper nutrition can significantly decrease migraine frequency and intensity. Diary entries to track triggers as well as stress management techniques also play a significant role in providing people living with migraine with improved quality of life.
Stay hydrated – Dehydration can be an early trigger of migraine. Drink plenty of water. Dehydration is one of the primary factors underlying migraine symptoms.
Sleep
Migraine pain and other symptoms often interfere with restful sleep, and getting adequate restful slumber is one way to prevent migraine attacks. A good mattress, consistent bedtime routine and forgoing alcohol, caffeine or nicotine consumption all work to promote sound restful slumber.
Sleep is essential for adult development and getting too little can increase migraine frequency significantly. A headache diary is a useful tool in tracking patterns as well as understanding whether medications such as amitriptyline, nortriptyline and cyproheptadine are helping or hindering sleep; prolonged use can lead to medication overuse headaches which is one cause of chronic migraine.
Dr. Starling recommends an easy method for her patients to keep track of their migraines: adding green, yellow, or red dots on a calendar each day depending on whether or not you experience disabling pain. Furthermore, maintaining a consistent sleep schedule may also be useful in helping prevent migraines.
Diet
Diets that emphasize whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meat, nuts and tubers can help alleviate headaches. Strive to eat regularly scheduled meals while staying well-hydrated. In particular, sodium (found in processed food like hot dogs and lunch meat), monosodium glutamate found in aged cheese tyramine content as well as caffeine or artificial sweeteners should all be avoided as potential triggers.
Maintain a stable blood sugar by not skipping meals and eating regular small snacks throughout the day. A headache diary can also be an invaluable way to identify food and beverage triggers for headaches; write down when they occur, what was consumed prior or subsequent, severity level and duration.
Although migraine is an inherited neurological disease, lifestyle choices can play a critical role in controlling its frequency and severity. Adherence to SEEDS’ recommendations – sleep, exercise, eat, diary entry management and stress reduction management – provides an holistic approach for headache prevention.
Exercise
Many patients suffering from migraine have difficulty making time for exercise, yet regular physical activity has been proven to significantly reduce migraine frequency and intensity attacks, improve cardiovascular health, relieve stress, boost mood and help maintain a healthy weight.
Studies have demonstrated that regular moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise may help decrease migraine headache frequency, duration and acuity. Furthermore, regular participation may improve quality of life for some individuals while decreasing prescription pain medication requirements.
Before beginning an exercise program, it is important to identify any individual triggers like dehydration, low blood sugar or allergens as they could impede success. Maintaining a diary to track food, sleep and activity levels can help identify patterns or triggers; work with your physical therapist on creating an individualized exercise plan safe and within your comfort level; aim for consistent activity each week (even 20 minutes of activity can make a difference!) if this seems excessive; gradually increase it over time.
Stress management
Stress is often identified as the leading trigger/risk factor of migraine attacks and patients often report premonitory features associated with stressful events, but establishing causal links is challenging. One theory suggests that elevated stress hormone levels alter brain chemistry and increase susceptibility to migraine headache, further amplified by rapid drops in cortisol levels that result in “let down” headaches for migraine sufferers after particularly intense and stressful days.
Studies suggest that mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation may reduce stress levels, increase emotional resilience and possibly lower the risk of stress-induced migraine attacks. Treating mental health conditions such as anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder may also help lower perceived levels of stress. While traditional clinical trial standards (controls, blinding, ideal control groups) make establishing causal links between behavioral management interventions and improved migraine outcomes difficult, patient experience and real world evidence show otherwise.
