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Headaches tend to start between the ages of 10 and 46 and may run in families.

That much is known about migraines. But what triggers them is not as clear because it varies from person to person.

Triggers can include tension, sleeplessness, alcohol, anxiety, and more. Interestingly, though, many of the triggers can be traced back to stress. Frustration carried over from the office, anxiety from fighting with your husband or wife, tension from navigating rush-hour traffic, etc., can build up or combine to set your migraine in motion. And if you are unable to stop the migraine machine, you are headed for indescribable, debilitating pain.

Neuroscience Institute, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL., various stimuli may cause a series of neurologic and biochemical events which affect the brain's vascular system[2].

In essence, the nerves connected to the brainstem become irritated and agitated by your migraine triggers. This agitation, causes blood vessels in and around the brainstem to dilate – which pinches nerves, causes pain, and affects various areas of the brain that control sight, smell, and hearing.

When that happens, you may begin to see squiggling lines. You may feel like you are looking down a long narrow tunnel. Or you may become sensitive to sounds as innocuous as a child’s voice. These are all early warning signs of migraine (called aura).

If you are smart, you will go lie down in a dark room immediately with a cold compress, and take whatever migraine medication you have available. If you don’t, your migraine will reach full pitch -- pain so far within your brain cavity it seems relief is out of reach.

If you have been diagnosed with migraine, chances are your doctor has referred you to an over-the-counter medication such as: Acetaminophen; Ibuprofen; or Aspirin. For severe migraines, your doctor may have given you a prescription for a high-potency pain reliever and narcotics.

The problem is that if you use over-the-counter medications too often, they can actually cause “rebound headaches” – meaning your pain reliever can end up causing MORE migraine headaches.

And, because the key cause of migraine is swollen blood vessels, prescription migraine medications are designed to narrow your blood vessels. But – and this is a big BUT – if you have any form of heart disease, narrow blood vessels can cause heart failure or worse.

So before you go down the long, sometimes-risky path of drugs and more drugs, perhaps you should try other therapies that are proven to get results.

The best way to treat migraines is to prevent them. One of the best treatments, without drugs is called floating. Floating, also called REST (Restricted Environmental Stimulation Technique) directly counteracts the source of many migraine triggers – stress.

Floating not only reduces current stress levels, it has been proven to have lasting stress-relief effects. That means if you float on a regular basis, it can significantly reduce your risk of suffering from stress-related migraines now and in the future.

In essence, you lie in a shallow pool of saltwater that creates the weightlessness you have felt while swimming in the Ocean (but without the breaking waves). The water and room temperature match your skin surface temperature precisely. You lie weightless, completely relaxed. And tension and worry melt away. Your heart rate and blood pressure slow. Stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline disappear. And pain-relieving endorphins wash over you.

The result is that those stress-related, migraine triggers will disappear from your body. And you will be working toward a migraine-free life.

[1] Headache - Migraine; MedlinePlus, Updated 11/21/2006 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000709.htm

[2] Headache - Migraine; MedlinePlus, Updated 11/21/2006 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000709.htm