Migraines are severe headaches that can be brought on by various stimuli, from bright lights and strong scents, to skipping meals or eating processed food containing nitrates or monosodium glutamate as well as medications like aspirin or oral contraceptives.
Discovering and avoiding your triggers may provide relief from migraine attacks. Your healthcare provider may recommend keeping a migraine journal to track them more efficiently.
Stress
Stress can be an immediate trigger of migraines. This may be the result of changes to brain chemicals like serotonin that regulate pain regulation.
Migraines may also be caused by physical or environmental stressors such as loud noises or flashes of light, while menstrual stress can exacerbate migraine symptoms and increase frequency and intensity of migraine attacks.
Finding and eliminating personal triggers is important to managing migraines effectively and improving quality of life. You can start by keeping a migraine diary to identify triggers; other methods include yoga or meditation as stress relievers.
Preventative medications are another great way to decrease migraine frequency and severity, such as NSAIDs, calcium channel blockers and alprazolam (Xanax). Speak to your physician about which option would work best for you; additionally a therapist can offer additional help in dealing with stress management strategies and managing it more effectively.
Changes in the weather
Change of season presents unique difficulties for people living with migraine. According to the American Migraine Foundation, about one-third of patients claim certain weather patterns trigger at least some of their attacks – such as sudden temperature shifts, direct sunlight or an alteration in barometric pressure.
Summer days often feature long stretches of hot sun that cause people to perspire more than normal, leading to dehydration and sometimes migraine attacks. Sudden changes in air pressure associated with rainstorms may also contribute to headaches.
Workman advises those suffering from migraine to take steps to identify and limit triggers they can control, such as tracking their headaches and keeping medication close by. She suggests meditation or relaxation techniques as ways to alleviate stress that could otherwise trigger migraines, and to speak to their healthcare provider about preventive treatments like medications or neuromodulation devices that might also help.
Changes in your sleep schedule
Migraines are a chronic condition with no known cure; however, your healthcare provider can help reduce how frequently and severely they affect you by helping identify triggers that lead to attacks and teaching you ways to avoid them.
Studies have linked migraines with sleep and circadian rhythms, in particular the suprachiasmatic nucleus – a deep brain structure responsible for controlling our internal clock and sleep cycles – which plays an integral part in migraine prodromal symptoms such as yawning or changes in sleep pattern. A deficit here could be one reason behind prodromal migraine symptoms including yawning or changes to sleeping patterns.
Stress, food (particularly those high in histamine or MSG, aged cheeses, caffeine and alcohol), bright lights, loud noises, strong odors and overuse of pain relievers may all be triggers of migraine headaches in some individuals. Maintaining a headache diary or journal may help identify and avoid your triggers as effectively as possible – it may take some trial and error until the right combination comes together but ultimately, the benefits can outweigh any disadvantages in terms of effectiveness.
Changes in your diet
Many migraine sufferers report that certain foods, beverages and additives can aggravate their headaches, such as flavor enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), processed meats containing nitrites or nitrates like hot dogs, ham and bacon containing these compounds, red wines containing these elements as well as chocolate or sweets as well as alcohol beverages and caffeine beverages are frequently reported triggers.
Changes in hormones experienced during menstruation or pregnancy may also trigger migraine attacks in some individuals. Stressful environments with bright lights, loud noises or strong odors could also set off migraine attacks in certain people.
As part of your effort to reduce migraine attacks, it’s essential that you identify and understand what triggers them for yourself. An excellent place to begin this is by keeping a headache journal and tracking diet to see any patterns. Furthermore, speaking with healthcare provider about taking supplements such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), magnesium, feverfew or butterbur – often used to treat migraines.
