Your Migraine Toolkit

Migraine Journal: What to Track

4 lifestyle factors can make a huge impact

Based on research, there are 4 lifestyle factors that can greatly influence your migraine:

Sleep Hygiene
Diet
Stress Levels
Hydration

Life is busy and complicated, and it's hard to know how these 4 major factors could be affecting your migraines without tracking. By taking a few notes down on these 4 factors each day, you can start to see how they are affecting the severity and frequency of your migraines.

Track your migraine

When tracking the 4 major lifestyle factors, it's equally important to track your migraine attacks. Information is power; the more you can track the better. Some things to track are:

Daily Routine (Schedule, events, etc.)
Symptoms & Frequency
Severity
Medication
Environment (weather, mood, stress)

By comparing the 4 major lifestyle factors with your migraine attacks, you and your specialist can create a personalized approach to manage your migraine.

Tools for Hydration

Hydration blog

Signs of dehydraion

13 Easy Ways to Stay Hydrated

Signs of dehydraion

Here are 10 signs of dehydration you should know.

Headaches and Dehydration

Find out more about how dehydration can lead to headaches.

Fancy Fluids

Headaches and Dehydration

Find fun drink recipes that will leave you feeling better instead of worse. Stay hydrated and healthy.

Unwind, Focus and Listen to Your Body

Try a Relaxation App

Yoga with Adriene on YouTube

Guided meditation and relaxation apps could be a good way to unwind and focus and listen to your body. Try Head Space or other apps.

Yoga with Adriene on YouTube

Yoga is a great way to both relax and exercise.

mindfulness for MIgraine

Yoga with Adriene on YouTube

mindfulness for MIgraine

Stress reduction and processing techniques to manage migraine.

Migraine Biofeedback

mindfulness for MIgraine

Relaxation and Biofeedback tips for headaches.

Guided Relaxation

Migraine Biofeedback

Guided Relaxation

Dawn C. Buse, PhD has free guided relaxation audio files that can help destress and calm your mind and body.

About Laurel

Laurel Short, DNP, FNP-C

I am a Family Nurse Practitioner with Sunflower Medical Group in Roeland Park, Kansas. I earned my undergraduate degree in Nursing from Luther College and a master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Kansas. I completed my Doctor of Nursing degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City with an emphasis on self-management for chronic migraine. Working with patients who have the condition of migraine is extremely rewarding. Nothing beats seeing a patient transform from being overwhelmed by migraine days to feeling empowered and in control. I often say that a major treatment goal is to "put you back in the driver's seat of your life." Self-management for chronic conditions has been a focus for me throughout my nursing career, and I have a personal interest in this condition due to my father and brother experiencing migraine disease.

I am a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and have a Certificate of Added Qualification in Headache Medicine.

I am passionate about working with patients to maximize their function and wellness. I enjoy presenting at medical conferences and community events. Outside of the office, you'll find me running, cooking, and spending time with my family.