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Because migraines remain somewhat of a mystery and can cause excruciating pain for sufferers (sometimes the pain can last for days at a time), you may still be wondering if there are other treatment options you can try. The good news is that there are amazing benefits associated with sex and sleep.
Scientific research has shown that you can reduce the occurrences and intensity of migraines by having more sex and keeping a consistent and regular sleep routine.
What are migraines?
Migraine headaches are still not fully understood. Migraine manifests as a throbbing headache that often occurs on one side of the head. Debilitating and extremely painful, migraines can lead to vomiting and excruciating pain that interferes with your daily activities.
Migraine is a specific type of headache or neurological disorder. Unfortunately, doctors and headache researchers have not pinpointed an exact cause. Nor were they able to isolate a specific trigger for each individual.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, headaches occur when pain signals are sent to the brain. This, in turn, leads to an inflammatory response, resulting in a headache.
What triggers a migraine?
A number of triggers can trigger a migraine, including:
- Menstruation and hormonal fluctuations
- Sensitivities to various foods (especially sensitivity to wine, cheese and chocolate)
- Changes in barometric pressure
- Medicines
- Food additives
- Stress
- Sensory stimuli (bright lights, strong smells and loud sounds)
- Consuming too much caffeine
This type of headache tends to run in families. But because there’s no specific cause and triggers vary widely, people who get migraines—even if they’re already under treatment—often seek treatments to ease their headache pain.
Treatment of Migraine
Most doctors prescribe drug treatments in the form of medication and lifestyle changes to treat migraines. Although many have benefited from the use of acupuncture and biofeedback, not everyone can go to an integrative medicine facility.
In the area of lifestyle changes, doctors often recommend that patients exercise more and focus on mental health as it relates to stress, anxiety and depression. Migraines and mental health are linked. In fact, stress can be both a cause and effect of migraine lesions.
Increasingly, doctors are adding mindfulness-based techniques to their quiver. This is because the benefits of meditation and yoga that use mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques have been scientifically studied and have shown promise in treating migraines.
In addition to the medications and lifestyle changes mentioned above, it’s encouraging to know that you can be proactive in your treatment. Check out the sex and sleep related benefits discussed below.
How sex can help your migraines
Although migraine sufferers may not think of sex as a therapeutic tool, it can be. While migraines impair function and sometimes cause extreme discomfort that makes the idea of sexual activity anything but appealing, many find relief from migraine pain by having sex.
Endorphins released during sex relieve pain
What makes intercourse and other sexual activities such a welcome relief for these extreme headaches? During arousal and orgasm, endorphins increase. Endorphins are peptides that act on opiate receptors in the brain. With increased feelings of pleasure, there is a decrease in perceptions of pain.
Perhaps we pay less attention to our headache’s disturbing signals when we’re distracted during lovemaking. Or more likely, opioid-acting endorphins provide rapid pain relief. Thus, we no longer experience pain or are in the midst of an attack.
A published research study found that the majority of people who had migraine attacks felt better after sexual activities. Specifically, 60% of migraine sufferers reported improvement and 70% reported moderate to complete relief from their migraines.
Reminder
Keep in mind, you may want to skip the glass of red wine before sexual activities, as red wine could be a potential trigger. Also note that sometimes neck pressure and physical activity in bed could lead to an increase in tension. Some even report that sex itself causes headaches.
Since sex is a natural way to help your migraines, consider increasing your sexual activity. Indulging in this enjoyable pastime could be a new tool in your arsenal to ward off migraine attacks.
How sleep can help your migraines
Any changes in your waking and sleeping pattern can lead to migraines. This includes too much sleep and too little sleep. The disorder has been implicated in increasing the occurrence of migraines.
Too much sleep: People may experience frequent migraines, especially weekend attacks after extra hours of sleep on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Sleep experts encourage people with migraines to wake up at the same time on both weekdays and weekends. Getting the recommended number of hours of sleep (between 7 and 9 hours per night) and maintaining a regular and consistent sleep pattern can help prevent migraine incidents.
Too little sleep: According to research in The Journal of Headache and Pain , lack of sleep is often responsible for terrible migraines. Lack of sleep often precedes the onset of migraine. Research shows that acute sleep deprivation can commonly trigger migraines
Sometimes people wear their reduced sleep hours as a badge of honor to show that they work hard and put in a valiant effort at work or school. But chronic sleep deprivation is dangerous. Chronic sleep deprivation can increase your risk for:
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