Lifestyle Changes to Manage Migraines: Simple Modifications for Big Results

A migraine isn’t your typical headache. Often debilitating, a migraine can last for hours or days and involves symptoms beyond head pain, including nausea and fatigue. You might be ultra-sensitive to sounds, lights, and other stimuli during a migraine. 

If you get migraines often, you might be interested in changing your lifestyle before resorting to clinical treatments like botulinum toxin (Botox®) to manage them. 

Our multidisciplinary team at Delaware NeuroRehab specializes in migraine treatments like Botox. However, we can also help you manage migraines with mindful lifestyle changes. 

At our offices in Dover, Newark, and Lewes, Delaware, we evaluate your migraines to determine the best management approach. 

For people who prefer a more natural approach to migraine management, the sleep, exercise, eat, diary, stress (SEEDS) method includes five easy-to-remember steps: 

1. Sleep

Anyone who experiences migraines should make sleep a high priority. Unfortunately, migraines can make it challenging to get the consistent, high-quality sleep you need. However, a lack of sleep can trigger migraine attacks. 

To improve your sleep, we recommend:

• Darkening your sleep environment
• Avoiding screen time before bed
• Sticking to a consistent bedtime and waking time
• Avoiding naps during the day
• Using a white noise machine

The goal is about 7-8 hours of sleep every night. However, if you find you function better with nine hours, you may aim for nine. Consistency is more important than a specific number of hours. 

2. Exercise

Usually, exercise is beneficial for people with migraines. Research suggests that people who exercise regularly have fewer and less severe migraines than those who don’t. 

When you exercise, your body releases beta-endorphins. These chemicals reduce stress, boost positive feelings, and are also the body’s natural painkillers. This is likely why exercise helps those with migraines. 

3. Eat

Your eating and drinking habits can influence your migraines. Try to get three meals a day with snacks in between if you feel hungry. Some experts recommend six small meals a day instead of three larger meals. 

In addition to regular eating, drink plenty of water. Your body constantly loses water through sweat and urine, so to keep up, aim to drink around eight glasses of water daily.  

4. Diary

Keeping a diary of your migraines makes it easier to predict and prevent them in the future. You can detect patterns and triggers by keeping track of when your migraines happen and what led up to them. 

For example, you might notice that you ate a certain food on most migraine days. This could indicate that food is a migraine trigger. Going forward, avoid that food or find a comparable alternative. 

5. Stress 

Stress is a migraine trigger. That said, stress is often unavoidable in life. Finding a healthy way to manage your stress can help you avoid stress-related migraines. 

For example, instead of doom scrolling or watching the news, use the time to meditate or write in your journal. If you smoke or drink to cope with stress, try mindfulness techniques instead. 

Get in touch for migraine management today

Our team is ready to assist you with making a migraine management action plan. Call Delaware NeuroRehab or request an appointment online today.