Migraines are debilitating conditions affecting almost 39 million Americans. Preventive medicine can significantly decrease migraine frequency and severity as well as associated distress.
Scheduled diet, sleep and exercise may help prevent migraines, as can avoiding trigger foods. Other techniques can include yoga and biofeedback as stress-relief techniques.
Eat a Healthy Diet
Migraine attacks can be avoided through eating healthily and drinking plenty of water, and by avoiding foods which trigger headaches.
Regular exercise such as yoga and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) may also help relieve migraine symptoms, particularly by relieving stress and improving sleep – two common migraine triggers.
Caffeine can trigger migraines, so it is best to maintain a steady and predictable intake. Missed meals or fasting can also precipitate migraines; therefore it is wiser to have meals throughout the day and maintain a consistent eating pattern.
Preventive medicines known as CGRP inhibitors can also help alleviate migraine symptoms; however, your physician must prescribe and oversee these for any possible side effects. Migraine medication comes in nasal spray or rectal suppositories forms as well as pills.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Migraine attacks are frequently linked to disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle, with sufferers often reporting sleep disturbances as one of their triggers.
An established sleep/wake cycle and eating regiment can help to mitigate migraine attacks. Aim for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted restful sleep per night.
Regular aerobic exercise has also been proven to reduce migraine frequency. Walking, jogging, swimming and cycling are great forms of aerobic activity; high intensity workouts such as weight training should be avoided for best results.
Be consistent in your fluid consumption: this is one key step towards migraine prevention. Too little or too much water intake may cause dehydration and rebound headaches; drinking it at a set time each day will help avoid this from occurring.
Stay Hydrated
Your body loses fluid through sweat and urine throughout the day, so replenishing its reservoirs with freshwater is vital for optimal health and especially relevant for those susceptible to migraines, since dehydration can aggravate their symptoms and trigger attacks.
Migraineurs often benefit from supplementing their water consumption with electrolyte-rich drinks like sports drinks or Pedialyte to help prevent electrolyte imbalances such as low sodium and potassium levels that could otherwise lead to migraine headaches. This approach could prevent migraine headaches.
Another useful way of preventing and managing migraine is keeping a headache diary. Starling suggests marking it with “stoplight” system: green days without migraine pain; yellow for moderate discomfort; red for disabling discomfort. Doing this can provide insight into personal triggers as well as response rates to preventive treatments.
Avoid Caffeine
Caffeine can be an acute trigger for migraine headaches. People should limit their caffeine consumption to two servings daily (this includes coffee, tea and energy drinks) to avoid worsening migraine symptoms due to dehydration. Because caffeine acts as a diuretic, too much consumption could actually cause dehydration headaches that worsen migraine pain further.
As such, people should try to limit their intake of caffeine and other stimulants in general as well as avoid skipping meals as this can also contribute to headaches.
If lifestyle changes don’t help, then prescription migraine preventive drugs might be necessary. Migraine preventive medications may be taken alone or combined depending on an individual’s unique circumstances; in general, doctors start patients on low doses before gradually increasing them until reaching optimal dosage for their symptoms.
Avoid Bright Lights
Migraineurs often experience light sensitivity (photophobia), making avoiding bright lights even more important.
Other common triggers can include eating foods containing aged cheeses, chocolate, caffeine or alcohol; skipping meals; not getting enough sleep; stress; or hormone changes caused by menstruation.
Preventive measures can be relatively easy and affordable to implement. Furthermore, they may help decrease the frequency and intensity of migraine episodes even if they do not completely stop.
If bright lights aggravate your migraines, try switching to warm bulbs with a Kelvin rating of less than 2,700. In addition, use filters or green light therapy treatments such as green light therapy on computer or smartphone screens as another form of protection or try green light therapy treatments to combat blue light exposure.
