Migraines don’t have an effective cure, but medication may help manage and ease an attack. Also, pain-reducing medicine may provide temporary relief during an attack.
Avoiding food triggers such as aged cheese, chocolate and caffeine may help lower migraine frequency and severity. Sleeping enough and keeping a regular schedule are also useful strategies.
Avoiding triggers
Migraines can be caused by bright lights, loud noises, strong scents or weather changes (pregnancy or menstrual cycles). A migraine diary should be kept to record when an attack happens and any factors which helped or hindered it.
Sleep is also key in combatting migraines and making them less intense when they do occur. A poor diet can trigger migraines as well, especially foods containing histamine, MSG, chocolate, cheese, other dairy products artificial sweeteners caffeine cured meats and many other chemicals found in processed food products.
Substance overuse can result in rebound headaches when their effects wear off – this condition is known as rebound headache. If this happens to you, discuss various solutions with your healthcare provider immediately.
Getting enough sleep
Sleep is one of the best ways to prevent migraines. Unfortunately, people living with migraines often struggle to achieve quality restful slumber – often awakening feeling fatigued and leading to other issues like low energy and irritability. Furthermore, some medications may interfere with rest, so make sure that you take it at the same time every day for best results.
Studies indicate a link between migraines and your sleep-wake cycle, with disruptions triggering migraine attacks as well as disrupting it itself. Disruptions to this rhythm may trigger migraine attacks as well as disrupt sleep – to minimize both consequences, make sure to maintain a regular sleeping pattern by not taking too many naps during the day and limit caffeine intake as excessive consumption will keep you awake at night.
Avoiding foods that trigger migraines
Diet can help to reduce migraine attacks, with foods like aged cheeses, caffeine, chocolate, processed meats such as hot dogs and lunchmeats with nitrates, monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame, and certain alcoholic beverages all being potential triggers for migraine attacks. By eliminating these foods you will reduce both frequency of attacks as well as medication dependency.
Keep a food and symptom diary to help identify migraine triggers. Be sure to record what you eat, the quality and length of sleep you get and other relevant details such as menstrual cycles or weather changes that could impact on your symptoms.
If a certain food or drink seems to trigger your headaches, try eliminating it for several weeks and gradually add them back. If symptoms improve over time, add back any which were eliminated stepwise.
Getting regular exercise
Exercise can help prevent migraines in many ways, with regular physical activity being one of them. Studies show that physical exercise helps decrease both frequency and severity of migraine attacks; additionally it improves sleep quality while relieving stress which are both common triggers of migraines.
Exercise should be fun! Walking, swimming, cycling and jogging can all be great forms of physical activity that provide benefits; just make sure that any sudden exertion doesn’t trigger migraines in some individuals.
Some doctors suggest high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves short bursts of intense cardio exercise alternating with periods of lower intensity physical activities, to raise your heart rate without increasing migraine risk. HIIT provides an effective means of raising your pulse without increasing its risks.
Simplifying your life
Migraines are a form of headaches that can cause excruciating head, neck, or eye pain, disrupt your ability to think or feel, and last hours or even days. But don’t despair–there are ways you can manage symptoms and prevent further outbreaks!
Treating migraine can include medication, devices and lifestyle modifications. As soon as symptoms appear, taking migraine medication could prevent further worsening of headaches; however overuse of medication could cause rebound headaches; healthcare professionals can help determine the appropriate dosage for you.
Migraine treatments also include physical therapy, acupuncture and relaxation training. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has also proven its ability to alleviate stress-induced migraines.
