Hormones and the Menstrual Cycle

• According to Web MD, migraines in women have been related to the menstrual cycle, particularly levels of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen drops significantly right before a woman's cycle starts, and women often experience premenstrual migraines when their hormone levels decrease right before their cycle.
  
  

Caffeine

• While caffeine may help acute migraines, it may also cause migraines, especially when you drink a lot of caffeine. When you drink a great deal of caffeine and then abruptly withdraw from it, it can cause a painful headache because the blood vessels have become sensitized to caffeine and when you do not drink it anymore, a headache may result.
  
  

Food Sensitivity

• Certain foods can trigger up to 30 percent of all migraines, according to Web MD. Beverages and foods, like aged cheeses and alcohol, especially red wine and beer, may trigger migraines. Food addictives like nitrates found in processed lunch meats and MSG, most commonly found in Chinese food, may also trigger migraines.
  
  

Weather Changes

• Changes in altitude and barometric pressure changes may trigger a migraine when a storm front passes by. Traveling to a different time zone or the change of seasons may also trigger a headache.
  
  

Emotional Stress

• Migraine sufferers are often affected by stressful events. During a highly stressful event, certain chemicals in the brain are released to remedy the situation (the flight or fight response). Sometimes the release of these chemicals can cause a migraine.
  
  

Excessive Fatigue

• Stress and fatigue will worsen muscle tension, and dilated blood vessels will increase the strength of the migraine.
  
  

Sensory Stimuli

• Some migraine sufferers are sensitive to stimuli like bright lights or sunlight, which can trigger a headache. Other people cannot handle certain smells, even pleasant ones like perfume, or more unpleasant ones like paint thinner or smoke, without getting a migraine.