THE MYSTERY OF MIGRAINES

Why do people get migraines? It’s a simple question, but one with an incredibly complicated answer. If ‘answer’ is even the right word. Because, in truth, as far as the science is concerned, the most honest and straightforward answer to ‘why do people get migraines?’ would be ‘we don’t know’. Despite countless years of research and study, it seems that the underlying science of migraines is so nuanced and complex that our understanding is still far from complete.

However, it’s always worth emphasising that ‘incomplete understanding’ is a far cry from ‘zero understanding’. Science has revealed many significant things about migraines, why they occur, why they endure, who they affect, and why they hit us so severely.

Is a migraine just a bad headache?

For those lucky enough to not have to deal with them, it’s easy to label migraines as a type of headache. However, while ‘headache’ is an undeniable aspect of the experience of a migraine, migraines are actually much more than just a headache, and have numerous key differences.

For one, headaches are more common than migraines. Estimates suggest that 75 per cent of all people will have experienced at least one headache within the last year. By contrast, evidence suggests that just