🤕 Guide
How to find your own migraine triggers
Migraines rarely come "out of nowhere." Usually several factors stack up first. The catch: everyone's are different, so generic lists only help so much. The key is finding yours.
The most common triggers
- Weather — especially rapid pressure drops; also heat and high humidity.
- Sleep — both too little and too much; irregular hours.
- Food and hunger — a skipped meal, dehydration, and for some people specific foods (aged cheese, alcohol, MSG).
- Stress — often the attack comes not at the peak of stress but in the "let-down" phase afterwards.
- Hormones — for many women attacks track the cycle.
- Sensory input — bright/flickering light, loud sound, strong smells.
Why they're hard to catch
Triggers usually add up and act with a delay (up to 12–24 h). So "I ate chocolate and it hurt" can mislead — the real culprit may be the combination: worse sleep + a pressure drop + a skipped lunch. Memory alone can't untangle that.
The method: a diary instead of guessing
For a few weeks, log attacks (date, time, severity) and the context: sleep, meals, stress, period. Environmental factors — weather, pressure, pollen — work best when they're added automatically. Then look for repeating overlaps in the 0–24 h window before the pain. After a dozen or so attacks a pattern usually emerges.
Once you know your triggers, some can be reduced (regular sleep, hydration) and the predictable ones (weather) anticipated. It's also the best material for a visit to a neurologist.
See a doctor for frequent or unusual migraines. This article is for information only.
Lunaria — the health diary that listens
Note how you feel in a sentence, and Lunaria connects it with weather, pollen and the moon — and reveals patterns.