Why do I get so many headaches during the summer?

Some studies have suggested that hot or humid weather, bright sunlight and summer-related drops in outdoor air pressure can trigger headaches in some people. Migraine sufferers in particular often report being the most affected, as The New York Times recently reported. 

Everyone’s headache triggers are different, and not everyone is triggered equally. It’s also possible that early migraine symptoms are just associated with, rather than caused by, certain weather changes. As a result, the conclusions of relevant studies have been mixed.

Still, it’s plausible that people could be triggered during the summer months, said Vincent Martin, MD, professor of clinical internal medicine at the University of Cincinnati's College of Medicine and director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at UC's Gardner Neuroscience Institute.

In Martin’s own recent research, he and colleagues analyzed the daily diary records of 660 migraine patients and found that for every 10-degree temperature increase, there was a 6 percent increase in the occurrence of any headache.

It’s a bit of a mystery why heat or humidity might increase the risk for headaches and migraine attacks, Martin said.

One theory is that high temperatures could make some temperature-sensing pain nerves more active, inducing more pain, he said. Heat and humidity might also activate the trigeminal nerve in your head, which connects to blood vessels in the brain and is involved in migraine attacks. Dehydration may also play a role.

“You lose a lot of fluids and electrolytes through sweating,” Martin said, which might change the chemistry around pain neurons, causing them to become more active.

Poor air quality, which is more common with hot weather, has also been linked to headache frequency. Pollutants could potentially inflame nerves and trigger a headache.

Martin also added that bright sunlight may activate the nerve cells in a part of the brain called the occipital cortex, which is particularly sensitive to visual changes in people with migraines, increasing the chance of a headache.

Some research has linked drops in air pressure, which happen during stormy summer weather, with migraine headaches, too. Such atmospheric changes might affect the pressure in the sinuses around the middle ear, which could lead to pain. It has also been suggested that low air pressure may affect blood vessels in the brain in ways that could spur a migraine attack.

Read the full article in The New York Times for tips on how to reduce your risk of headaches and migraines. 

Featured image at top: iStock/Prostock-studio.