Anybody out there who is experiencing migraines on a daily basis know what their migraine triggers are. These are sounds or environments where you are more likely to have a migraine than others. These might just be situations where you are more stressed than normal and this causes your migraine. No matter what your migraine triggers are, there are certain ways that you can avoid these triggers and fight against them. Just keep reading down below and you’ll get everything you need to know about how avoid your migraine triggers and stay happy and healthy.
1. Identify Your Migraine Triggers
The first way that you’re going to avoid your triggers is to know what they are in the first place. When you know your migraine triggers, you can easily avoid those situations and ensure you don’t trigger a migraine. For example, some people’s migraines are triggered by bright lights. If that’s the case for you, try to avoid areas where there are bright lights that could cause you to fall into a migraine. Or some people’s migraines are triggered by stressful situations. If that’s the case, then make sure that if you are suddenly more stressed than normal, get out of that situation and take some time to relax. The single best way that you’re going to fight against migraines is to know exactly how to prevent them from coming on in the first place.
2. Find a Relaxed Environment
If you do have a migraine that comes on, then you’ve got to take the steps to fight against it and deal with the pain in the best way possible. The first thing you’re going to want to do is find a relaxed and calm environment. You’ll want to do this as soon as you feel a migraine coming on. That way, you can get the pain to subside in the least amount of time possible.
You will want to take down on the amount of light in your relaxing room. Close the window blinds, turn off the lamp, and settle in. When you have a migraine, you are going to be much more sensitive to light, so try to sleep in as dark of a room as possible. Another way to relax is to use hot and cold compresses on your neck and head. These have been shown to help reduce swelling in your brain’s blood vessels. You can also go into a dark room and try a warm shower if those hot and cold compresses are not helping. While you are trying to relax, you should try out a cup of coffee, as well. Small amounts of caffeine have been shown to seriously help with migraines and help them to subside more quickly.
3. Eat Healthy Foods
It’s been shown time and time again that one of the number one factors as to whether or not you will experience migraines is your diet. Make sure that you are eating consistently at the same times during the day to reduce the amount of migraines you experience. You should also ensure that you don’t skip any meals on a regular basis. Skipping meals and not eating for a long time can cause you to experience migraines at a higher level.
On top of that, you should think about keeping a food journal. This is the journal you keep to determine which foods or lack of food might be causing you to have a migraine. If you have a migraine right after a certain meal numerous times, then you can figure out which foods to throw out of your diet. For example, if you regularly have a glass of wine after dinner, but end up having a migraine after that glass, you could try to get rid of alcohol from your diet and see if that helps you out any.
4. Sleep Well
Even though you might not sleep well when you have migraines, you are more likely to not have migraines if you get a good night’s sleep. When we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies just don’t function as well as they should. If you are having trouble getting enough sleep, then try out the below tips to get better sleep on a regular basis:
- You should be going to bed at the same time every night and waking up in the morning at the same time. A consistent sleep schedule is going to ensure that you feel tired at the same time and your body wakes up at the same time. Make sure to aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night!
- At the end of the day as you are approaching your regular sleep time, ensure that you take time to wind down and relax. This can be anything from lighting some candles to doing a face mask to reading a book. When you do this, your body will start to recognize it’s time to go to bed and you will get tired.
- Don’t go onto any electronic device before bed time. The blue screen of our electronic devices seriously hurt our chances of falling asleep easily. That’s because the blue screen is so bright that our bodies think we’re looking at the sun. And when our bodies think it’s day time, we are not going to feel as tired as we might otherwise.
5. Avoid Stress
Of course, one of the most important factors when thinking about your risk of migraines is stress. Stress goes perfectly with migraines, so if you want to reduce your migraines, then make sure to learn how to manage your stress. For example, if you regularly find yourself stressed out, then think about why this is and what you can do about it. Once you figure out the causes of your stress, you can easily take steps to reduce those stress factors and therefore, handle your migraines better.
Each of these points are going to help you deal with your migraine triggers and reduce your risk of having migraines. Use them to your advantage!
