Migraines can be debilitating, but they’re treatable. By becoming familiar with your triggers and making lifestyle adjustments to reduce migraine symptoms, you can successfully manage migraines.
Food allergies or food additives like nitrates and monosodium glutamate (MSG) may also trigger migraine attacks. Hormonal changes during menstruation or taking birth control pills may also trigger migraine attacks.
Stress management
Stress can be an indirect trigger of migraine attacks, and managing it is essential to preventing and mitigating episodes. A healthy daily routine, good sleeping habits and diet all play an integral part in avoiding migraine episodes; regular physical activity is also key as is connecting with a supportive community for additional support.
Stress affects everyone differently and its causes vary between people. But here are a few general warning signs to look out for: tense muscles, fatigue or headaches as well as emotional symptoms like irritability or forgetfulness can all indicate stress in one way or another.
Keep a migraine diary to help gain more insight into your symptoms and responses to stressors, then identify which are affecting you and develop strategies to eliminate them from your life. Meditation, exercise, mindfulness or yoga are great ways to combat stress; apps exist online with resources as well as local classes available for this. Or try PREVENT program which slowly desensitizes trigeminal nerve over time to lessen migraine attacks.
Exercise
Exercise for migraine prevention can help decrease the frequency and intensity of attacks while improving sleep quality and blood flow to the brain. Exercise stimulates endorphins and enkephalins production – natural painkillers and antidepressants respectively.
Regular physical activity can help keep your body strong, as it helps you avoid weight gain that could increase chronic headaches. Be sure to eat healthily and drink plenty of water; even beginning small with walking can make an impactful statement about who you are as an individual.
However, high-intensity exercise should be avoided as this can trigger an attack. A good way to start exercising gradually is with low-intensity activities like yoga. Gradually increase intensity as time progresses – don’t forget warm-up properly beforehand and cool-down afterwards too – also try not exercising on days when it is hot or humid outside!
Diet
No single diet will solve migraines, but avoiding foods known to trigger them is a step in the right direction. These may include gluten, lactose and refined sugar as well as aged cheeses with high tyramine concentration as well as some wines and beers containing these compounds. Some people also find caffeine can trigger their migraines so it may be wise to limit its consumption as well.
Keep a migraine diary to identify triggers. Record when and what led up to migraine attacks. Try eliminating them for several weeks to see if your symptoms improve.
When embarking on an elimination diet, consult with a doctor or registered dietitian first. Restrictive diets can be difficult to stick with and may result in nutritional deficiencies; additionally, they may not be as effective in relieving symptoms as medication would. If migraine attacks continue occurring frequently or severely, consult a doctor who can prescribe preventive medicines known to decrease migraine days per month such as seizure medicines, blood pressure medicines and CGRP inhibitors.
Sleep
Sleep is of critical importance for everyone, but especially migraine sufferers. A poor night’s rest can trigger migraine attacks or worsen existing ones.
As soon as migraine attacks start, the trigeminovascular system becomes activated and releases calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which floods blood vessels nearby with an abundance of this protein and causes them to dilate and become sensitive to pain. Melatonin, however, can stop this chain reaction by controlling how CGRP releases. By doing this, it may prevent migraine attacks altogether.
Scientists have also observed that melatonin and other sleep-related chemicals fluctuate with our circadian clock, suggesting this could explain why migraine symptoms tend to worsen at certain times of day.
