How to Prevent Migraines

A migraine can cause serious throbbing pain, pulsing sensation usually on one side or portion of the head. It often leads to nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and loud sound. Migraine attacks can last from hours to days and the pain can be severe and interfere with your daily activities.

Some people can experience a warning symptom known as Aura before a severe headache. An aura includes visual disturbances such as flashes of light,or blind spots or other disturbances such as tingling on one side of the face, an arm,a leg or difficulty in speaking.

Yes it is true that medication helps in preventing migraine and make them less painful but there are some other exercises that you can follow in order to avoid or prevent migraine.

Tips to Avoid Migraines

• Avoid Bright Lights and Loud Noises

Loud sounds, flashing lights, sensory stimulation are some of the common triggers for migraine headache. It can be difficult to avoid such triggers in day to day life but knowing that they occur in certain situations and environment could help.These may include:

• Attending clouds and crowded venues
• Watching movies in theatre
• Driving at night
• Experiencing glare from sun
• Working on systems and laptops
• One should consider taking a break from TV ,computer ,laptop ,mobile phone screens in order to rest your eyes or you can adjust the brightness level on a digital screen. You should pay close attention to all visual and audio disturbances. Make sure you can avoid them in case of migraine attack.

• Choose Food Wisely

Certain foods and drinks act it as triggers of migraine such as:

• Chocolate
• Red wine
• Cheese
• Processed meats
• Sweetener

You should keep a track of foods and additives which bring about a headache for you and should learn to avoid them. Foods and drinks with caffeine or alcohol are some common triggers .One should try to limit the amount consumed or avoid them all together.

• Track Hormonal Changes

Hormones play a significant role in migraine conditions. Many women tend to experience more migraine headache during or before their menstrual period .Women should take proper care of their diet and exercise habits during this time, this may help prevent migraine attacks.

• Pay Attention To The Weather

Changes in weather can also affect migraine conditions. High humidity, hot temperature ,or rainy days can stimulate migraine headaches. If you feel uncomfortable with the weather ,you should try to avoid going out and should try to take a break from outdoors.

• Maintain A Good Sleep Schedule

Sleeping patterns can affect a migraine condition. Lack of sleep, or disturbed sleeping pattern can aggravate symptoms of migraine. In order to avoid migraine headache one should try to get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

• Take Care Of Your Eating Schedule

As much as eating right is important, eating on the right time is also important in order to avoid migraine attacks. Fasting and skipping meals can trigger migraine headaches. You should stay hydrated and make sure that you drink enough water and don't skip a meal.

• Choose Relaxing Exercises

One should not opt for intensive exercises such as weightlifting, gyming etc. This can Trigger headaches. You can try practicing relaxing exercises without putting too much strain on the body such as meditation, yoga, light aerobic and stretching.

• Learn Your Triggers And Try To Avoid Them

Above all are some generic exercises which one can perform to avoid migraine but each body reacts differently on different things. So your triggers may differ from someone else's. Make sure to observe and make a list of your triggers and try to avoid them. These may include:

• Stress
• Menstrual periods
• Changes in your normal sleep pattern
• Extreme fatigue
• Certain foods and drinks
• Too much caffeine or withdrawal from it
• Skipping meals or fasting
• Changes in the weather
• Exercise
• Smoking
• Bright, flickering lights
• Certain smells

Disclaimer: This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. Readers are advised not to rely on the contents of the article as conclusive in nature and should research further or consult an expert in this regard.