About Migraines
Migraines often start in childhood, around puberty, affecting women more than men. The reason that migraines develop is highly individual, with a range of factors such as tiredness, certain types of food, stress or hormonal changes contributing.
Causes of migraines
The actual cause of migraines is not yet fully known, but so far studies have determined that they’re likely caused by abnormal nerve activity. This activity is thought to affect areas of the brain that control some of our conscious and involuntary functions, our emotions and sensations. This helps explain why there are various phases with varying symptoms at each stage of the migraine.
Did you know: Migraines are inherited?
It’s also known that people inherit the likelihood of having migraine attacks. This is called a “genetic predisposition”. That means that if they are common in your family, or your parents suffered from them, it’s likely that you may, too.
Migraine triggers
A migraine trigger is either an internal or external factor that causes a migraine. Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether something is a trigger or an early symptom.
Migraine causes and triggers can include:
- Food
Missing meals is one of the most common food related causes of migraines. Certain foods and drinks, such as chocolate, alcohol and caffeine in tea or coffee, can trigger migraines. Tyramine, found in some soft cheeses, red wines and cured meats is also known to trigger migraines. In order to work out which foods trigger your migraines, you can try cutting them out of your diet, while still keeping it balanced, for a few weeks to see if your migraines improve. - Sleep
Changes in your sleep pattern, lying in at the weekend, having an afternoon nap or lack of sleep down to late nights, could trigger migraines. To avoid this it’s important to maintain your sleep routine and try to improve sleep quality. - Your body
Physical conditions might trigger migraines, such as low blood sugar caused by missed meals or mild dehydration, neck or shoulder tension or poor posture, a routine change, or sudden vigorous exercise. - Hormones
Changes in hormone levels can be linked to the cause of migraines. Migraines can come on within a day or two of the start of a period. If you only suffer from migraines during your period, then you may have what's known as a “menstrual migraine”. But if they occur at other times, this is called “menstrual-associated migraine”. During the menopause, migraine attacks may be unpredictable.
What is a migraine threshold?
A migraine threshold is the number of triggers that you can handle before you experience a migraine. It may be just one trigger or different factors can add up and bring on a migraine. Missing a meal on its own may not set off a migraine, but a combination of triggers could. For example: you’re stressed, your sleep pattern changed, and you're dehydrated, can all add up to triggering a migraine. Your migraine threshold may also change depending on different factors.
Should you keep a migraine diary?
This is recommended as it comes in handy for recognising the factors causing your migraines, shows symptoms, patterns and helps you prevent migraine attacks.
How to keep a migraine diary
Try to remember what you were doing, eating and feeling in the hours before it began. If you ate a meal or skipped a meal, what your meal consisted of, and whether you were excited, depressed or lacking sleep should all be recorded. Even the weather conditions may be important factors. Keeping track will help you to see if there’s a trend in what sets your migraines off.
Understanding the causes
Understanding the causes of individual migraines will help you to avoid triggers where possible. Be realistic about this, however, as it may not always be possible to completely avoid triggers, but reducing the triggers can help to lessen how often you have migraines. If you are worried, or unsure about how to reduce your migraines, do not hesitate to contact your doctor.
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