Can mindfulness meditation prevent migraine?

Stress is a trigger for migraine. Now researchers have investigated whether the mindfulness meditation reduce the number of monthly migraine attacks and stress.

Approximately ten percent of all Americans repeatedly suffer from migraines – a few of them suffer even up to fifteen attacks per month. Although the exact causes and mechanisms of migraine are still unclear, but as one of the risk factors for frequent attacks of pain could be the stress. Therefore, it is obvious that relaxation exercises and stress management can be effective against migraine. However, compared to medications, these measures have so far been little explored and not supported by medical studies.

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in the US state of North Carolina now investigate how the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) effects on the frequency of migraine attacks. The results is: Mindfulness Trainings in the case of migraine could reduce the number of monthly attacks and reduce the duration of pain.

Mindfulness meditation decreases the number of migraine attacks.

In the study had took part 19 volunteers, of which ten were instructed in the art of MBSR, while the remaining nine patients tested the usual medical care. All MBSR participants received eight lessons and afterwards should perform the 45 minutes of meditations per day and five days in week. Participants will have later claimed that they had meditated 35 minutes a day on average – which is a very good value, according to the study authors.

It turned out that regular implementation of mindfulness exercises could reduce migraine to 1.4 attacks per month, depending from intensity of trainings. In addition, the attacks by 2.9 hours had shorter and the severity of pain was lower on a scale from 0 to 10 by 1.3 points. As a result participants will have a reduced frequency attack of the migraine. Also, the MBSR experienced patients was confident in dealing with their pain and felt a kind of personal control over their migraine attacks. In addition, this technique did not have adverse side effects.

Positive effects are clearly visible.

Even if the migraines so do not completely disappear by mindfulness exercises – exercises helped to reduce the incidence, severity and duration of headache attacks, what already represented a great relief for patient. The US neurologists are now planning further studies with a larger number of participants than 19.

Mindfulness is the non-judgmental perception of things, without digressing into other thoughts and judgments. The goal is to win a peaceful, loving and stronger acceptance of dealing with himself, his fellow men and events of life as well as obtain a greater freedom in the response to specific situations. Mindfulness promotes the perception of own emotions and own body and can lead to greater inner peace and relaxation.