3 Things to Check
Sleep Apnoea, Insulin Resistance, and Diet

1. Check for Sleep Apnoea

People with sleep apnoea may wake up hundreds of times every night (my sleep study report said 85) but you just never register it. You just wake up with headaches or feel like you’ve been hit by a truck.

If you feel like you never got any sleep when you wake up and you get headaches while sleeping, this might be something to look into to solve the problem.

Other things associated with sleep apnoea are aging, smoking, drinking alcohol and being a male.

2. Check for Insulin Resistance

Another thing to consider, the strongest risk factor, in fact, is your weight. If you are overweight (obese) around your middle, which many men are – sorry guys – this can reduce your lung volume. This creates a pull on the trachea that narrows the airway.

With this comes insulin resistance. There is a very strong link between insulin resistance and sleep apnoea. There have been studies since 2000 on this looking at obesity, unstable blood sugar, and sleep apnoea.

3. Check for Offending Foods

Dairy products are known to cause nasal congestion. Any food sensitivities will worsen sleep apnoea because they raise your heart rate causing aggravated insomnia.

A drop in your blood sugar level at night will also cause the body to use the necessary hormones to wake you up. So have some protein (meat, fish, eggs, nuts) at dinner, or a small snack before bed should do the trick.

Exercise will help you lose weight and help with promoting better sleep habits.

These herbs help sleep disturbance: St. John’s wort, and SAM-e.

They also help depression which is also linked with poor quality sleep and repeated waking through the night.

Kava and Valerian are also known to help induce a good night’s sleep.

I think now a days it should go without saying that smoking and alcohol should be stopped if you are getting headaches while sleeping.

What is your solution? Please click here to share your answer on the cure headaches post.

Essential Migraine Tools

Pillar One - Information + Education = Options + Choices

Build Your Own Migraine Tool Kit - Here is my post with eleven steps on exactly how to do it yourself! It has all the forms you need to print out and step by step instructions to navigate your way through building an effective chronic pain management strategy.

Pillar Two - Meditation and Biofeedback Training

I highly recommend reading Cynthia Perkin's Mindfulness Over Migraines e-book that explains the science behind mindfulness and why it helps migraines. And she explains the method step by step that she uses to eliminate her migraines in 15 minutes. Yes, you read that correctly ... eliminate in 15 minutes. It will be the best $6.99 you ever spend!

Timing is everything when aborting a migraine attack. Do you know your tipping point? You will after you read her book. It changed everything for me.

Wild Divine Biofeedback is an essential part of keeping my migraines at bay. Learning to control breath and body temperature could assist in reducing migraines or eliminating them all together, especially if they are stress related. Meditation is proven to help reduce migraine attacks. This system will teach you all of that. I love mine.

Pillar Three - Eliminate Potential Food Triggers

Dr. Amy Myers Elimination Diet e-Course is much easier than doing it yourself - like I did. It is vital to find our migraine food triggers, and then avoid them where ever possible. Dr. Myers is an autoimmune expert. Just what we need! This e-course will guide you every step of the way.

Pillar Four - Use Safe Food As Medicine

Food is so important to me, especially because it is the one thing I can control. I have a whole migraine food section that I hope you enjoy. Come check out the migraine safe recipes (drinks too).

After spending four years studying Chinese medicine and a few more studying nutrition, I know how crucial it is to eat healing foods. I choose to be proactive against my migraines and help my body with nutritious foods and staying hydrated.

This book or e-book Fighting The Migraine Epidemic: How To Treat and Prevent Migraines Without Medicines By Angela A. Stanton Ph.D. is an exceptional one for biochemical balancing. Something every migraine sufferer should know, in my opinion.

Post Your Story

What do you struggle with most? Have a place to vent your anger and share your pain here at Migraine Savvy. Post your story with those of us who understand completely. The good, the bad and the ugly!

I hope you ENJOYED this issue of Surviving Chronic Migraine!

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I hope you come back and visit us again and again to see what's new. I have two new natural medications for you to try in a couple of issues. Here is one now - PEA On Migraine Headache Medication I couldn't wait to write a post on this one.