Studies 1-10 have conclusively established that engaging in consistent, healthy behaviors can significantly decrease migraine severity and frequency – an integral component of comprehensive treatments for the approximately 40 million Americans living with migraine.
Encourage your patients to establish a sleeping schedule and keep a daily migraine diary. They should also try to get enough physical activity and consume small, regular meals.
1. Eat Small Meals Throughout the Day
Food allergies and food triggers can be an integral component of managing migraine headaches. But regular meals must also be eaten without missing or delaying meals; eating small, regular meals throughout the day helps keep blood sugar stable and avoid hunger-related headaches.
Eating a diet high in proteins, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables can be extremely helpful in relieving headaches. Limiting processed food consumption and decreasing sodium consumption are also recommended by the National Headache Foundation; in particular they recommend trying a low-tyramine diet plan as suggested by NHF.
Maintaining good sleep hygiene is also vitally important. Achieve enough restful restful sleep by restricting naps can reduce migraine headaches; on the contrary, sleep deprivation increases their severity. Establish a regular time to go to bed and wake up each night – even on weekends!
2. Exercise Regularly
Regularity can help alleviate migraine pain and protect against future episodes, by helping you avoid large meals that may trigger migraine attacks and instead eating several smaller meals throughout the day to ensure blood sugar remains balanced and hunger does not play a part in triggering headaches.
Exercise may also help decrease migraine symptoms by producing chemicals in your body that block pain signals from reaching the brain, as well as helping with weight loss, another potential trigger of migraine attacks.
Engage in physical exercise at least 30 minutes each day, five days a week. Walking, swimming or cycling are great forms of physical exercise; or try deep breathing exercises which are popularly practiced in yoga classes but can be done anywhere – these types of breathing exercises slow your heart rate down while simultaneously lowering blood pressure and relaxing the entire body.
3. Get Enough Sleep
People suffering from migraines frequently find their condition is compounded by sleep issues. Migraines can trigger low blood glucose levels, making people who get little or no rest more prone to low glucose levels and thus more likely to have attacks when blood glucose drops below its optimal range.
Migraines may also be caused by foods high in salt, MSG, artificial sweeteners or processed ingredients; to minimise migraine episodes it is wise to identify potential triggers by keeping a food diary or keeping an ‘Avoid List.
Sleep is vitally important when traveling, particularly on long flights or long road trips. Try sticking with your regular sleep schedule if possible and using white noise apps or ear plugs that block out noise as an aid when trying to sleep on planes, hotel rooms or cars.
4. Stay Hydrated
As part of a migraine attack, it’s crucial to drink plenty of water in order to maintain balanced blood sugar levels and prevent dehydration. Dehydration leads to decreased blood volume which in turn decreases oxygenation as well as dilation of the vessels which trigger pain signals.
Adults should aim to drink approximately eight glasses of water daily, though this amount may differ depending on factors like their weight, gender, diet and activity level.
Some individuals require electrolytes in the form of sports drinks or Pedialyte; Migraine sufferers can also consume foods high in water content like cucumbers, cantaloupe and strawberries to replenish their bodies with essential hydration and nutrition needs and avoid migraine triggers. Maintaining a food log may help identify your hydration and nutritional requirements to identify triggers more easily; more often than not it takes multiple factors coming together to trigger migraine attacks.
5. Avoid Food Triggers
Migraine is more than a simple headache; it involves changes to brain state that alter how your senses work, such as smell and touch. Certain foods containing tyramine such as cheese, fish and nuts may trigger migraines; keeping a food and symptom diary may help identify possible triggers; eliminating one item at a time from your diet may help your migraine symptoms subside.
Sleep and diet may help decrease migraine symptoms. If lifestyle changes don’t work, talk to your doctor about other treatment options such as medication. Stress management strategies like yoga, meditation and biofeedback may also prove effective; behavioral therapy has also proven successful at managing migraine symptoms by challenging negative thoughts while providing relaxation training techniques.
