Migraine is a disabling condition, yet studies have demonstrated that lifestyle modifications can significantly decrease both its frequency and severity of attacks.1
She recommends keeping a headache diary, marking days without migraine as green, yellow for moderate pain and red for disabling episodes. In addition, she advises patients to eat small meals at regular intervals in order to prevent dips in blood sugar which could potentially bring on migraine attacks.
1. Drink More Water
Drinking more water is one of the easiest lifestyle changes you can make to combat migraine, and can have instantaneous benefits. In one study, patients who drank more water reported reduction in headache days and improvements in function.
Dehydration can occur due to both migraine symptoms and medication for them; drinking more water helps combat dehydration by providing sufficient fluids and keeping patients adequately hydrated.
Remind patients of daily water intake recommendations, and encourage them to spend one week intentionally increasing their own intake in order to reach their goal of optimal hydration for migraine. Ctrl M Health offers a patient handout on this subject available here.
2. Eat a Healthy Diet
As migraines are neurological conditions, nutrition plays an integral part in their cause and severity. Diets rich in vegetables and fruit, lean proteins, healthy fats, and moderate carbs have been shown to reduce migraine attacks.
Avoid foods known to trigger migraines, including alcohol, caffeine and chocolate. Furthermore, eating regularly throughout the day is crucial – missing meals could result in low blood sugar levels which could be the source of migraines.
Keep a food diary to help identify triggers and enable attempts at avoidance, however further well-designed studies on migraine phenotypes would provide more specific dietary recommendations. In the meantime, patients can aim for a balanced diet low in processed food items.
3. Exercise Regularly
Studies demonstrate the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on migraine attacks. It may do this due to decreased stress levels and increases endorphins – natural mood boosters – released during physical activity. It also improves quality sleep which could prevent migraine attacks in some people.
Starting a new exercise routine gradually is key. Too-rapid exercise regimens could potentially trigger an acute attack as well as overexertion and injury.
Staying hydrated is also of vital importance, since thirst and dehydration can both aggravate migraine symptoms. Therefore, drinking enough water should be part of your routine before and during exercise as well as throughout the day.
4. Get Enough Sleep
Staying on a regular sleep schedule can help ensure that you get enough rest.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine as triggers. If anything seems to trigger headaches, keep track of it by keeping a migraine diary. There are also certain foods known to trigger migraine attacks like cheese, chocolate, artificial sweeteners, nitrates and red wine which could all be potential triggers.
Sleep can also play an essential role in managing migraines and stress levels, so be realistic about the effectiveness of lifestyle changes for you and your migraines; sometimes additional measures, including medication, may be required.
5. Relax
Chronic migraines can be debilitating conditions, and medication alone cannot always provide a remedy. Healthy lifestyle choices like keeping a headache diary, exercising regularly, meditation/mindfulness practices can all play an integral part of managing migraines. By adopting measures such as keeping an exercise log and creating strategies such as keeping a headache diary you may improve quality of life while decreasing migraine frequency.
Mindfulness techniques have been found to reduce stress levels, which is often the root of migraine attacks. Implementing mindful breathing exercises into daily routine can calm nerves and ease muscle tension while inhaling essential oils like lavender or peppermint can also promote relaxation and decrease levels of stress. Physical therapies also serve to ease chronic migraine pain relief through manipulations that relieve neck and shoulder tension.
