While migraine sufferers can at times pinpoint certain triggers of migraine, still no one is really sure what exactly causes the condition in the first place. The headache can last hours and sometimes days and often come with nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to lights and sounds and distorted sensory perception.
Study reveals that headache pain results when serotonin level drops during migraines. Serotonin level drop can trigger the trigeminal system to release substances such as neuropeptides, which travels to the brain’s outer covering called meninges.
Some of the most common triggers of migraines include:
1. Sleep patterns. Change in sleep patterns can trigger a migraine like napping, oversleeping and lack of sleep or too little sleep.
2. Food. Migraines appear to be triggered by certain food like aged cheese, chocolate, aspartame, overuse of caffeine (coffee, tea and soda), monosodium glutamate, salty foods, processed foods, skipping or fasting can trigger a migraine.
3. Stress. Stress factors such as anxiety, worry, shock, depression, excitement, mental fatigue and loss and grief can trigger a migraine. Both “good stress” and “bad stress” are both triggers. Work related stress or home related stress can instigate migraine.
4. Alcohol. Alcohol such as beer and red wine are also blamed triggers of migraine.
5. Sinus. Sinus is also a trigger of migraine.
6. Sensory Stimuli. Bright or glaring lights, flashing lights or screens and sun glare can cause migraine. Unpleasant smells like strong perfumes and unpleasant odors such as the chemical odor of paint thinner and secondhand smoke and smog are triggers of migraine.
7. Environmental factors. Weather and temperature changes, extreme heat or cold, humidity and barometric pressure change can trigger a migraine.
8. Medications. Certain medications are also blamed as one of the triggers of migraine.
9. Hormonal changes. Estrogen fluctuation in women are most blamed as triggers of headache in women with migraines. Women migraine sufferers often get headaches before or during periods where there is a major drop in estrogen. Example, menstrual cycles, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapies, peri-menopause, menopause, and ovulation.
10. Physical. Too much reading or use of computer are also triggers of migraine. Over-exercising when out of shape, exercising or marathon running under intense heat of the sun are triggers of migraine.
11. Others. High altitude airplane travel.
