(WYTV) – Let’s talk about managing migraines. Changes in your sleep habits, your hormone levels, eat a certain food and even changes in the weather, can trigger migraines.
Instead of focusing on triggers, think about migraines as a threshold problem and use the acronym “SEEDS.”
Doctors say you can raise your threshold for a migraine attack.
The first “S” stands for sleep. Try to avoid changes in your sleep pattern, even
on the weekends.
“Some of my patients will say, ‘I get migraine attacks on the weekends when I’m not at work.’
And then I’ll ask them, ‘Well, usually what time do you wake up? What time do you go to sleep?’
And that’s markedly different than the weekend, and that can trigger a migraine attack,” Dr. Amaal Starling, a neurologist at The Mayo Clinic. “So consistency in that sleep pattern is really important.”
The first “E” is for exercise: about 20 minutes, three times a week of aerobic exercise.
The second “E” is for eating healthy whole foods without skipping meals and avoiding those processed foods.
“D” is for dehydration. Make sure you stay well-hydrated.
Finally the last “S” is all about stress management and learning to cope.
Learn to control the things you can control that’s raising your threshold for migraines.