MIGRAINE TRIGGERS

Can Be Just About Anything

Not A Comforting Thought

There are many things which may trigger a migraine - and they vary with the individual. Some common triggers include skipping meals, weather/temperature, sleep, foods, dehydration, caffeine, and stress.

The major benefit to identifying and understanding your specific migraine triggers is that you can take steps to avoid or reduce them.

You may think you already know all your triggers. But as you read through this article, you may find some that you hadn't suspected.

Too Much Sleep

Too much sleep -- or not having your head elevated while you sleep -- is thought to contribute to blood pooling in the blood vessels in your head. This can lead to swelling of the blood vessels and irritation of the surrounding nerves.

These migraine triggers can be avoided or reduced by elevating your head while you sleep, and by getting up a little earlier. Try it and see if it reduces or prevents a migraine.

Dehydration

Not drinking enough water is one of the most serious -- and avoidable -- migraine triggers. Dehydration can trigger a migraine in a couple of different ways:

1. Water is an active participant in many important chemical reactions. If your body does not have enough water, the chemical reactions involved with proper nerve function may be affected. This can lead to a migraine.

2. Water is also a solvent; it washes away toxins from cells. If there is a lack of water, the toxins build up, causing irritation to nerves and pain -- and producing a migraine.

Not Eating Properly and Regularly

If you do not eat enough nutritious food, and frequently enough, that can trigger a migraine. Like a machine, if you do not give it the ingredients it needs to run properly, it breaks down. Migraine sufferers tend to have their Achilles Heel in their heads.(Sorry for the mixed metaphors.) When something is wrong in their bodies, it frequently finds expression in a terrible headache.

This is one of the most easily avoided migraine triggers:if you think there is a chance you will miss or delay a meal during the day, take food with you.

Stress

Of all migraine triggers, stress is the most common. Interestingly, major life changes (moving to a new home, getting a new job, etc.) are not linked to migraines as much as are day-to-day stresses.

Whether the mechanism is chemical or linked to muscle tension (or is something entirely different) you may help yourself by minimizing or avoiding those stresses you know are connected to your headaches. As much as you can, whenever you can, make things easier for yourself. Stop for a moment, take a deep breath, let your body relax. Stress can build up; don't let it.

Caffeine

Caffeine -- in coffee, tea, caffeinated beverages, and even in chocolate -- is a stimulant and affects the central nervous system.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), four out of five Americans have some caffeine on any given day, the average amount being about 200 milligrams a day (approximately equivalent to what's found in two 8-ounce cups of coffee, three to four 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda, or four 8-ounce cups of tea).

Caffeine is a diuretic, and it inhibits enzyme function. It can also have an effect on blood vessels, causing them to constrict and raising blood pressure. It makes your blood more `sludgy' by raising the level of fatty acids in the blood. All of these effects can help to give you a migraine.

Many migraine triggers are hidden in foods; caffeine content is usually advertised! So you will probably have no trouble finding out what you eat that contains it. In spite of the JOLT it gives you, it probably pays to decrease or eliminate caffeine from your diet.

Foods

Foods can be migraine triggers -- or, more likely, some chemical in the foods. While food sensitivities can vary from person to person, there are some substances that hurt everyone. Possibly the biggest trigger in foods is a special additive called an excitotoxin. You can read an entire article about it here -- on the right of this page click on Migraine Triggers -- Excitotoxins.

Heat

Your body wants to keep the brain at a certain temperature. If it gets too hot, the body routes more blood to the brain to cool it. Blood vessels become dilated and nerves can become irritated. Soon it escalates into a migraine.

Heat is one of the more difficult migraine triggers to avoid because it is an aspect of your environment. Environments are difficult to control, particularly when your work may keep you moving from one location to another during the day. Still, averting a migraine may be as simple as carrying a cold pack that you can apply to your head or neck for relief.

When Your Body Is Balanced, Migraine Triggers Fall Flat

You will find that when your body is balanced, these triggers tend not to affect you as much. There is more of a cushion protecting you. Of course, you should not look for triggers; whenever possible avoid them. Just like a machine, the body wears out more quickly the more stress it is subjected to.