Weather and headaches: what people report, and what the evidence says
Many people who get headaches, including migraine, say that changes in the weather seem to bring them on. Research on the link is mixed. No barometer reading can tell you whether you will get a headache, or why you got one.
What people report
Weather comes up often when people talk about their headaches. Some name falling pressure, some name storms, heat, or a change in humidity. These reports are real experiences, and they are part of why researchers have looked at the question.
What the research shows
The evidence is mixed. Some studies have found an association between changes in air pressure and headaches for some of the people studied. Others have found a weak link, or none. There is no settled answer, and no accepted rule about what size of pressure change matters, or for whom.
This question is hard to study, for several reasons:
- The weather changes in many ways at once. Pressure, temperature, humidity and wind move together, so it is hard to single one out.
- Other things change too. Sleep, stress, meals, activity and time spent indoors can all shift with the weather and the calendar.
- Memory plays a part. A headache on a stormy day is easy to remember. A headache on an ordinary day, or a storm with no headache, is easy to forget.
- Studies differ. They use different groups of people, places, weather measures and headache definitions, so their results are hard to compare.
So it is fair to say that some people notice a connection, and that science hasn't shown how strong it is or who it applies to.
Why a log may help you talk to a doctor
Doctors often ask how often headaches happen, how long they last, and what was going on at the time. A written record is usually more reliable than memory, and it gives you something concrete to bring to an appointment. It can be a notebook, or anything else you will keep up. People often note:
- the date and time it started, and how long it lasted
- how bad it was, and where you felt it
- any other symptoms
- any medicine you took
- your sleep, and anything else that seemed unusual that day
Please bring it to the conversation rather than draw conclusions from it alone. Pressure falls often, so some headaches will land on a falling day by chance. A few matching days don't show a cause. Don't start, stop or change a medicine because of a log or a barometer reading. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist first.
When to see a doctor
See a doctor about headaches that are severe, new or changing. That includes headaches that are more frequent or feel different from your usual ones, and headaches that get in the way of your daily life.
Get emergency care right away for a sudden, very severe headache, or a headache that comes with any of these:
- fever and a stiff neck
- confusion, fainting or a seizure
- weakness, numbness, or trouble speaking or seeing
- a recent blow to the head
What BaroLog does and doesn't do
BaroLog is a barometer. Its "Log headache" button marks the time on the pressure chart. That is the whole feature: a time stamp you can see next to your readings, and delete if you want to. The app shows how many marks fall in the period on screen. It doesn't analyse them, score them, or look for a link. The free version shows 3 days of history. BaroLog Pro adds 7 and 30 day views and a CSV file of your readings and headache times, which you can share if you choose.
Its alerts are about air pressure. A pressure-drop alert tells you the pressure has fallen, or that the forecast says it will. It says nothing about how you will feel.
BaroLog is not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat, predict or prevent any condition. Get it on Google Play.