A migraine can be a barrier to effective work and spoil your entire day/days. Here’s how you avoid them.
Avoid problem foods and eat protective foods.
Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and quality protein. Eat lots of dark green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and kale, as well as eggs, yogurt, and low-fat milk. These contain vitamin B which helps prevent migraines.
Eat foods rich in magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels and ensures proper cell function. Magnesium rich foods include nuts (almonds are especially good), cashews, whole grains, wheat germ, soybeans, and various vegetables.
Oily fish can prevent migraines. Consume oily fish three times a week to increase your omega-3 and fatty acids intake.
Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast. Eat smaller, more frequent meals to avoid blood sugar swings.
Stay well hydrated.
Caffeine is one of the most commonly-suspected migraine culprits. If you regularly use caffeine and suspect it may be causing migraines, you may want to wean yourself off it gradually, as caffeine withdrawal also seems to precipitate migraines.
Include caffeine containing food and beverage in your migraine diary and elimination trials to see the effects in your own case.
Get into a regular sleep schedule.
Too little sleep and too much sleep have both been implicated as migraine triggers.Beyond making sure you get adequate sleep, it’s also helpful to stick to a regular schedule of when you go to sleep and when you wake up.
Limit your alcohol intake.
Alcohol can cause hangovers even for people who don’t suffer from migraines. For many migraine sufferers, however, alcohol in general, and beer and red wine in particular, can trigger headaches, nausea, and other migraine symptoms that last for days, due in part to the tyramine content. Make use of your headache diary to determine your threshold, and be wary of crossing it; avoid alcohol completely if need be.
Manage or avoid stress.
Stress has long been known to trigger both tension headaches and migraines. Managing stress through the use of relaxation techniques, positive thinking, and time management can help ward off migraines. Use relaxation exercises, such as meditation, breathing, yoga, and prayer.
Regular exercise seems to reduce the frequency of migraines for many people, possibly because it helps reduce stress and boosts your mood. Sudden or strenuous exercise, however, has also been implicated as a migraine trigger, so don’t overdo it. Avoiding exercise in particularly hot or cold conditions may also help.