Living with chronic migraine for the last decade, Dallas-based beauty and lifestyle influencer Beverly Coleman knows what's likely to set off an attack for her sensitive migraine brain.
"My biggest trigger is sensory overload," she says. "When the lights are too bright, it's too loud, there are too many noises and smells – it becomes a problem."
Migraine triggers vary from person to person, but there are some common themes. For example, if you know certain foods can set off your attacks, you can cut them from your diet. But environmental triggers like the weather, or the sights and sounds around you, aren't always under your control.
Successfully navigating environmental migraine triggers in your daily life is possible, it just takes know-how and planning.
Understanding Environmental Migraine Triggers
Jessalyn W. Shen, MD, a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Headache Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says bright lights, loud sounds, and strong smells top the list of environmental migraine triggers.
"These can come from the natural environment, like a bright sunny day, or from artificial environments, such as the fluorescent lights of an office," she says.
Other environmental triggers can be less obvious. Weather changes, barometric pressure shifts before storms, heat, humidity, altitude changes, and even poor air quality can kick migraine into action. Even "visually complex" environments can be problematic, says Shen.
"Think flickering lights, busy intersections like Times Square, or fast-paced video games," she says.
Researchers are still studying why the migraine brain reacts so strongly to these kinds of stimuli. But experts believe the brain's sensory processing systems are more sensitive when you have migraine disorder, and part of the reason may be from natural selection.
"Back when we were hunters and gatherers, we had to evolve to notice small things like weather changes in order to survive," says Shen. "However, now those are no longer needed, and in our modern day, those same systems that helped people survive in the past are now easily overwhelmed with how much more stimuli we digest and encounter on a daily basis."
Living With Sensory Overload
For Coleman, managing migraine means constantly adjusting to her surroundings. As a content creator, she spends hours filming under lights and looking at screens. Being in the world of beauty means regular exposure to scents, too.
"I literally cannot walk into certain stores with fragrances, like Bath & Body Works," she says. "All the smells are really overwhelming."
Avoiding triggers can help prevent migraine attacks, but it can also come with social and emotional consequences.
Shen says that as a headache specialist, she knows people with migraine miss important events like weddings, funerals, and birthdays because they can't tolerate car or plane rides.
"I've also had people tell me they can't even go grocery shopping because of the extreme photophobia and phonophobia [sensitivity to light and sound] they experience, on top of the visual challenge of scanning the shelves for the items they need," says Shen.
From the outside, she says, these precautions may seem overdramatic, but when you live with migraine, it can mean the difference between still functioning or being out for hours to days at a time.
Learning How Your Brain Works
What triggers other people's migraine attacks may not affect you at all. Coleman says taking the time to learn her own triggers is key to navigating everyday life more successfully.
"Keep paying attention to your body. Listen to yourself and listen to your body," she says.
Shen recommends keeping a headache diary to track things such as:
- Daily weather changes
- Your sleep patterns
- Current stress levels
- Foods and drinks
- Hormonal cycles
- Environmental exposures
Identifying patterns can be key to taking back your quality of life, says Shen.
"Sometimes it's not until after someone has kept a migraine diary that they notice, 'Oh I always seem to have a headache before it rains,'" she says.
Finding Ways to Adapt
Completely avoiding triggers isn't always possible, but there are ways to adjust and prepare so you lessen trigger effects.
Rather than giving up or hiding from everything that might trigger a migraine, Coleman has learned some helpful modifications. For example, she loves live music. Concerts are often loud and can have strobe lights or other triggers. So she comes prepared.
"I go to like 10 concerts a year," she says. "But I'll wear earplugs to dial down the noise some, and sometimes I wear my blue light glasses to help with flashing lights. I'm not going to let a migraine stop the music."
Shen says often, people with migraines will notice that music heavy in bass tones or vibrations is triggering. She recommends tinkering with your devices to see if you can dampen that effect.
"Some car speakers and audio devices these days have the option to filter out bass selectively, which is what I do in my own car," she says.
For people who look at screens for work, Shen recommends migraine glasses like FL-41 glasses, and blue light screen filters for computers and phones. Some research suggests green light may be less likely to trigger migraine pain. You can find specialized lamps and lighting systems designed for people with migraine with this kind of light.
"I always recommend experimenting to see if there's a color you find most soothing and change to that color," says Shen.
Your doctor may also be able to tailor a treatment plan to help buffer potential attacks during times like allergy season or for air travel.
"For example, with my patients, I will often use premedication, or medicating before a plane flight, to try and avoid setting off a migraine attack, and then post-medication, or medicating after the plane flight, for the day of landing or even for a couple days after to ensure the system has calmed down afterwards," says Shen.
One thing Coleman noticed over time was that filming hair content was especially hard for her.
"It takes a while to style your hair – it's not something you can do in just five minutes," she says. "So I will section off my hair and do a small part, then walk away for a little bit, and then come back and do some more. Or if I have to dry my hair, I'll do that off screen and away from the lights. I pick and choose what I film, and I take breaks."
Finding workarounds is worth it to keep doing what she loves, says Coleman.
"I love my life and I'm enjoying it," she says. "And yes, I do have migraines, but I'm doing whatever I have to do every day so I can continuously learn about them."
