What Causes Migraines

Have you ever experienced severe headacheattacks. Though some experts cite skipping meals
that lasted for a few hours or up to three days?and starvation to occasional onsets of the severe
The pain can really be throbbing and you observeheadaches, consumption of several types of
that only a part or half of your head is actuallyfoods have been observed to almost always lead
aching. If you can relate to this situation, you areto migraine episodes. Such foods include aged
likely to be suffering from migraine. You probablycheese, marinated foods, chocolates and citrus
have heard about this neurological condition. Youfruits. Coffee is also known to cause headaches
are likely to be searching for effective, potentas well as foods that contain monosodium
and practical treatment for your migraine attacks.glutamate, which is a common ingredient of most
However, just like all physical and medicalChinese and Asian dishes. Aspartame, an artificial
conditions, you must first find out what causesfood sweetener present in diet beverages, can
migraine.also lead to occasional migraine attacks.
Up until recently, the exact causes of migrainesStress - As usual, stress is also a known factor
have remained unknown. However, tedious andthat could possibly lead to severe headaches. A
thorough studies and research over the years haslong and hard week of strenuous mental and
established that there are certain triggers thatphysical activity almost always leads to migraine
have been identified that are now understood toover the weekend. Stress can be incurred at the
lead to migraine episodes. These triggers areworkplace or at home. Relaxation is found to be
known to almost always cause migraine attacksan effective offset to stress.
among patients. Here are several of thoseSensory stimuli - Very bright lights coming from
identified migraine triggers:powerful bulbs and sun glares are reported to
Fluctuations in hormones - Most women whocause migraine attacks. Likewise, strong odor
experience regular attacks of migraines noticefrom perfumes, smoke and citrus fruits are also
that such headaches occur before the onset andknown to become potent triggers.
during their monthly menstruation. Experts explainSleeping habit changes - Abrupt and drastic
that hormonal changes during menstruation triggerchanges in sleeping pattern has been observed to
the manifestation of migraine. That can because severe migraine headaches among patients.
because it has been observed that declining levelsSudden changes in sleeping hours also cause some
of estrogen lead to migraine episodes. You knowpeople to lack sleep, which in turn can also
that estrogen, a female physiological hormone,aggravate and lead to what else, but migraine.
also drops when during pregnancy. That explainsOverall, what causes migraines differs among
why some pregnant women suffer from severepatients. The factors that lead to severe
and regular headaches during pregnancy. Womenheadaches almost always vary. Some people
undergoing menopause also experience migraineexperience migraine due to food consumption,
because of the low levels of estrogen in thesome due to lack of sleep, and some due to
bloodstream.hormonal imbalances. Whatever, it would be
Several foods - There are several types of foodsbetter if you would respond to the condition
that have been identified as triggers for migrainepositively.