If you’ve ever felt like you could “sense a storm coming” before a migraine, you’re not alone.
Many people living with migraine report that changes in the weather, extreme heat, bright sunlight, or even poor air quality seem to trigger an attack. For years, these experiences were often dismissed as anecdotal. But a growing body of research suggests the environment around us may indeed influence migraine risk—particularly in people who are already susceptible.
In this episode of Causes or Cures, I sat down with neurologist and headache specialist Professor Gal Ifergane to discuss the emerging science behind environmental migraine triggers and what researchers are learning about how our surroundings may influence the brain.
Migraines as a Layered or Threshold Disorder:
One of the most interesting concepts Professor Ifergane explains is that migraine appears to function as a threshold disorder. Rather than having a single cause, migraines may occur when enough contributing factors combine to push a person’s brain past a certain threshold. Genetics, stress, hormones, sleep, diet, and environmental exposures may all play a role. This may help explain why a trigger causes a migraine one day but not the next. For one person, a hot day may have little effect. For another, heat combined with poor sleep and dehydration may be enough to trigger an attack.
Air Pollution Doesn’t Just Impact the Lungs:
Our conversation also explores the growing evidence linking migraines with environmental exposures such as air pollution. While air pollution is already well known for its effects on the lungs and cardiovascular system, researchers are increasingly asking whether it also influences neurological health. Professor Ifergane discusses studies suggesting that certain forms of air pollution may increase the likelihood of migraine attacks among people who are already prone to them.
(Personally, I think the quality of our air gets lost in a lot of mainstream longevity conversations. There’s a lot of chatter around supplements and exciting new therapies to optimize this or that, but folks: Air is basic. We need it. We cannot “eliminate” that exposure, and we are constantly exposed to it. It has a tremendous impact on our health. To me, it seems impossible to live a long, healthy life if we let the air go bad.)
Weather and Migraines:
Weather is another topic that has long intrigued both patients and researchers. Many people with migraines report that storms, rapid weather changes, extreme heat, or bright sunlight seem to precede an attack. For years, these observations were difficult to study scientifically because weather involves many changing variables occurring at the same time. However, newer research methods are allowing investigators to better examine how specific environmental conditions may influence migraine risk. Rather than directly causing migraines, these exposures may simply lower the threshold at which an attack occurs.
What Makes a Migraine:
One theme that runs throughout our discussion is that migraines are rarely explained by genetics or environment alone. Instead, migraine risk appears to result from an interaction between the two. Two people can experience the exact same weather conditions or air quality, yet only one develops a migraine. That difference may reflect an individual’s unique biological susceptibility combined with environmental exposures occurring at just the right—or wrong—time.
If You Get Migraines, What Can You Do?
Professor Ifergane also discusses what these findings may mean for people living with migraines. While avoiding every environmental exposure isn’t realistic, paying attention to patterns involving weather, heat, sunlight, or air quality may help some individuals better understand their own triggers. Tracking migraines alongside environmental conditions may reveal patterns that are otherwise easy to overlook and could become one more useful tool in managing this often debilitating condition.
If you’ve ever wondered whether what’s happening outside your body can influence what’s happening inside your brain, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation. We discuss the latest research on air pollution, weather, heat, solar radiation, genetics, and migraine biology while exploring what scientists know, what they still don’t know, and where the research is headed next.
Listen to the full episode of Causes or Cures wherever you get your podcasts.
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If you are interested in brain health and brain longevity, I highly recommend listening to this podcast with Prof Joanne Ryan on the association between music and cognitive health as we age.