Instead, researchers suggest that alcohol as a trigger is more of a personal reaction — common in certain types of headaches — than a general effect. We also examine the types of headache alcohol can trigger and the types of alcohol likely to cause more headaches. These stressors can be triggered by many factors like financial pressure, travel, meeting work deadlines, family relationships and more. The purchase and consumption of alcohol and substances often increases during the holiday season. Part of this rise is due to numerous holiday celebrations where alcohol is commonly served.

• They are characterized by dull pain or pressure on both sides of the head and in the temples, scalp, or back of the neck—it may feel like something is squeezing the head.
• After using the above key terms, 1,892 articles were identified in the three databases.
• Red wine is the type of alcohol most often reported as a headache trigger.
• More recent studies still show that caffeine can interact with and interfere with several medications.
• Then, 142 conference abstracts, 100 reviews, four book chapters and 42 unretrieved studies were not taken into further consideration.

PATIENTS

Experts from the University of Alabama at Birmingham provide insight and resources on how substances like drugs and alcohol can impact the brain. Monument’s diverse support groups cater to various needs, such as gender-specific challenges, mindfulness practices, and coping https://ecosoberhouse.com/ with anxiety related to substance use. Additionally, practicing yoga can enhance your focus and help reduce cravings. Yoga not only improves physical flexibility and strength but also promotes mental clarity and emotional balance, making it easier to resist unhealthy habits. Engaging in yoga regularly can lead to better concentration and a calmer mind, which are essential for effective stress management. A study from Harvard found that running for just 15 minutes a day can lower your chance of feeling depressed by 26%.

What’s the Connection Between Alcohol and Migraines?

Finally, 22 articles 26, 27, 36, 44–62 were retrieved for further analysis. A detailed description of the steps performed during study selection is presented in Fig. However, in alcohol and migraines other countries (France, Italy) white wine (in France also champagne) is viewed as the major culprit 5, 6.

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Red wine strongly inhibits the binding of 5-HT to 5-HT1 receptors; white wine possesses this ability to a much lesser extent 47. Studies on red wine-sensitive subjects, in order to show a mediation of induced headache by some types of 5-HT2 receptors, give inconclusive results 42. In this light, direct or indirect (by 5-HT release) stimulation of 5-HT2 receptors was supposed to be the mechanism of headache induced by some serotonergic agonists (60, for review). This study is in accordance with a larger population-based study performed to detect cardiovascular risk factor in migraine, showing significantly less alcohol consumption in migraine than in control subjects 33.

Many people may also develop headaches due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol. If you have chronic headaches, identifying and avoiding your triggers can substantially improve your quality of life. To determine if drinking (which may have a weaker correlation with migraines than previously thought) is one of yours, it’s helpful to learn the signs of alcohol-induced headaches.

Cluster headache

However, further studies related to primary headaches and alcohol consumption with low risk of bias are required. Additionally, patients and physicians should consider the latest medical data, in order to avoid the myths about alcohol consumption and primary headaches. This data suggests that there may be a misperception that drinks containing alcohol cause migraine attacks. Still, in population-based studies in various countries, including the U.S., Japan and Italy, researchers found that fewer people with migraine consume alcohol than those without migraine. This indicates that people with migraine and other headache diseases may be more likely to give up alcohol because they perceive it as a possible migraine trigger.

Combined Effects on Anxiety

Therefore, there was insufficient data to analyze the relationship between alcohol and aura, and the data that does exist is inconsistent 65, 86. As mentioned in the discussion above, alcohol consumption assessment is strongly based on patients’ honesty. If there is misleading data in questionnaires or during medical interviews, their overall subsequent analysis is also distorted. The relatively low number of cluster-headache studies also does not allow an assessment of any correlation with alcohol drinking. Moreover, some of the studies included in our review do not present results in an accurate way or do so without assigning patients to specific headaches. Therefore, it was not possible for our meta-analysis to contain all those studies where drinking was described with primary headache.

Red wine’s propensity for causing headaches is usually attributed to the sulfates and sulfites it contains. But experts do not link migraine headaches to sulfates and sulfites alone. Other potential contributors in red wines include tannins, flavonoid phenols, histamines, and more. Many people believe that alcohol (particularly red wine) is a major trigger of migraine-related headaches — but the effect may not be quite as strong as most people think.

• If alcohol is a confirmed trigger for your migraine, then avoiding alcohol is the best solution.
• Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.27 The Biomedical Research Alliance of New York (BRANY) IRB granted full waiver from informed consent on 10 October 2019.
• No convergence issues were identified in Model 3 (neither in the full nor in the simplified, final model).
• Drinking more can increase the risk of anxiety and panic attacks.

Additives in different types of alcohol

Caffeine makes you feel more awake, which can hide Substance abuse how sleepy alcohol makes you. People who already have anxiety disorders are more at risk because these symptoms can make their condition worse and create new anxiety problems. One review emphasized that caffeine often makes you feel more uneasy and scared, especially if you are sensitive to it.