Does the Weather Affect Migraine? - CEFALY (2024)

Migraine is one of the most common neurological conditions, affecting 39 million Americans or more. Migraine attacks are marked by severe pain, nausea, light sensitivity and other debilitating symptoms.

A wide variety of factors can cause migraine attacks, including weather conditions and changes. You may have experienced migraine from shifts in barometric pressure or extreme temperatures. Learning more about weather-related triggers and tracking migraine attacks can help you identify symptoms and create a personalized treatment plan.

Read on to learn more about the relationship between migraine and weather and how CEFALY can help.

Why can weather trigger migraine?

Weather can directly trigger migraine when changes in weather patterns lead to chemical releases in the brain. These chemicals can cause sensitive brain cells to narrow blood vessels.

Just as migraine symptoms are unique from person to person, many different types of weather can trigger an attack. For example, a 2021 study found that higher wind speed resulted in more migraines in episodic migraine patients. From excessive humidity to extreme dryness, storms to bright sunlight, there are many ways that weather can impact those with migraine and prompt an attack.

Common weather triggers

Changes in typical weather patterns can trigger an attack in those with migraine. It’s important to understand common weather triggers so that you can prepare yourself for possible migraines.

These are some frequent migraine weather triggers:

• Bright sunlight: Bright and unfiltered sunlight can trigger migraine attacks. Excess sun exposure can lead to dehydration, a common factor behind migraine. Harsh sun rays can also strain your eyes and activate sensitive nerve cells. Sudden sunlight after long periods of overcast clouds can be particularly overwhelming and lead to a sun headache or migraine.
• Extreme heat or cold: Extreme changes in temperature and severe cold or heat can cause headaches and migraine. Sudden temperature drops might cause your body to react abnormally, triggering a migraine. Extremes in temperature might also worsen your symptoms during an attack. For example, an extremely hot room can cause discomfort that prolongs your migraine.
• High humidity: High relative humidity levels may create a higher chance of migraine attacks in warmer weather. Humidity measures the amount of water vapor in the air. Keeping track of the weather conditions on days when you have an attack can help determine if this is a potential trigger for you.
• Dry air: Like humidity, dry air can also prompt migraine attacks. Dry or dusty areas are often sensitive for those with allergies and could result in migraine.
• Windy or stormy weather: Windy and stormy weather conditions may also trigger migraine. Many people who live with migraine are sensitive to the changes in atmospheric pressure before and after a storm.
• Barometric pressure changes: As we mentioned above, many people with migraine experience a link between barometric pressure and headaches. Barometric pressure is a measure of the air’s weight, which can have an impact on your head. The air outside and inside your sinuses becomes imbalanced when the pressure drops. Many people with migraine are sensitive to pressure differences and experience weather-pressure headaches as a result. The pressure changes might also cause your blood vessels to widen in your brain, resulting in a barometric pressure migraine.

Other environmental triggers

In addition to weather-related changes, other environmental factors can cause migraine to occur, including the following:

• Bright non-natural light: Other light types, including many indoor lights and systems, can trigger migraine. Harsh fluorescent lighting might prompt an attack. Sudden disruptions or changes in lighting can also initiate migraines. You might encounter an attack when the lights come back on after a power outage or when walking into a room that’s much brighter than a previous one.
• Smoke: Inhaling smoke can narrow the blood vessels in your brain and prompt a migraine attack. Many people living with migraine find that particular smells can trigger an attack. Smoke has an extremely strong odor and might be a contributing factor to episodes, especially when you encounter it in large amounts.
• Altitude changes: Altitude changes might also trigger migraine. Many people experience nausea or pain at higher altitudes as they encounter barometric pressure changes moving between elevations. The discomfort from the changes in pressure could result in a migraine attack.

Understanding your triggers

A wide range of triggers can cause migraines, from weather conditions to excessive stress to changes in routine. By identifying your frequent triggers, you can avoid them more easily in daily life. For example, you might notice you often experience migraine after spending a lot of time in bright sunlight. Identifying this trigger lets you take precautions against it, like limiting sun exposure on sunny days or wearing protective clothing like sunglasses and hats.

How to identify your triggers

Tracking your migraines helps you identify your most common triggers. Every time a migraine occurs, you can take notes on the time leading up to the attack. For example, you could log details about:

• The date and time of the migraine.
• The temperature outdoors.
• Recent weather patterns.
• Your activity levels.
• The foods you’ve recently eaten.
• Stress levels.

As you record the details, you can uncover patterns. You might frequently experience migraine at certain times of the day, following severe thunderstorms or after you’ve eaten a particular food. This process makes it simpler to develop your migraine forecast. The more you understand your triggers, the better you can avoid them and manage your attack frequency.

CEFALY’s CeCe Migraine Management app provides a simple and intuitive way to keep a migraine log. You can record attack details and maintain a journal of your symptoms and triggers. CeCe can also generate graphs and charts to help you visualize migraine progression over time. Best of all, CeCe is entirely free to use.

Feeling under the weather? Try CEFALY

If you’re seeking a comprehensive migraine treatment option, try CEFALY Connected today. Our drug-free, clinically proven treatment device can help relieve pain and reduce attack frequency.

CEFALY targets your trigeminal nerve, the area most responsible for pain during migraine attacks. Attach the device when you feel an attack coming on and use CEFALY Connected daily to decrease attack frequency.

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