Are Solar Flares Giving Me A Headache?
Many people suggest that solar activity has an impact on their migraine attacks or cluster headache cycles. But could there really be a connection?
The short answer is – yes, there could be a connection. But understanding, confirming and explaining it is very difficult.
So how exactly does activity on the sun affect the earth?
To explain briefly, solar activity can send a geomagnetic storm toward the earth. For the most part, we are well protected from these storms, which is why they don’t generally make headline news. The biggest concern is usually satellites and electrical grids and equipment (including implants for heart patients).
We do know that magnetic fields are especially important to certain animals, such as those who use the earth’s magnetic field to find direction.
It seems reasonable that changes in the magnetic field could impact human biology. In fact, there have been some studies done that suggest a connection between geomagnetic storms and lifespan (see here also), depression, and other diseases.
A connection – but why? Are solar storms affecting the earth in some way that in turn affects our environments and in turn affects our bodies? Or is there a more direct connection? What exactly are the storms doing? Changing brain activity? Changing our cells? Confusing neurological signals?
The questions about these global storms is as complex as the environment in which we live.
Yes, there have been connections suggested to the severity of migraine attacks (see Geomagnetic Activity and the Severity of the Migraine Attack) and cluster headache cycles (Cluster headaches and solar activity?).
If you would like the check for yourself if there is any connection, the information is a bit complicated but there are resources. The NASA website has a question and answer about migraine and solar activities here. The links are out of date, but you can still find the information on solar activity at the Space Weather Prediction Center. Check also NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
At spaceweather.com you can actually sign up for alerts if there is solar flare activity.
If you’ve seen a connection between your health and geomagnetic storms, leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.
See also: Headache from WiFi? Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
TTandbreathe
13 July 2015 @ 9:48 pm
@migraine_blog I have not seen a pattern with my migraines but I don’t sleep well when solar storms hit our planet. Confirmed pattern.
23 August 2016 @ 9:04 am
Curious, the ones who get the headaches from solar flares. Are they RH negative?
I am and I can tell you buy my headache we must have a solar flare today. Aug. 23rd. 10:30 am eastern.
1 March 2023 @ 2:50 am
I’m AB, RH negative and just suffered an intense migraine today around 10pm. Now that it subsided slightly I was curious about why they could possibly come on so suddlenly, and I was struck with an idea – looked up solar activity for today. sure enough, about 2-5 minutes after a major coronal mass ejection started is when my migraine came on full swing. This is the first time I’ve thought about any correlation, so I’ve never compred before. Maybe I’ll start keeping a little log of migraines/date/time so that I can compare and see if there was any major solar activity at the same time. A coincidence, maybe. But maybe not?
1 September 2016 @ 6:41 am
I suffer from migraines regularly, but growing up & living in “Chinook territory”; and given that my episodes often (though not always) coincided with Chinook activity, I’d assumed barometric pressure was the culprit. To that end, I’ve been using a rather detailed weather app the last year in an effort to predict oncoming migraine attacks. I have consistently noticed that every episode always coincides with a geomagnetic k- index of 5 or above. Its too consistent to be random I think; though obviously it’s not clear if the solar flares are a cause or just a related predictor.
6 April 2017 @ 7:58 am
Yes, I have a headache now. I have had one for 3 days. I get LOTS of aura whenever we get space weather. I see many lights. This time when I went into the closet for complete darkness, the lines turned into a circle with tribal pattern around it. I’m ready for it to stop now. Please?
6 September 2017 @ 9:03 pm
I accidentally started noticing a coincidence between migraines and solar flares. Then when I really started paying attention, I also have an unidentified auto immune disorder, and not only do I get migraines, but I also get nauseous and sometimes throw up during solar flares. strangely I have also noticed that water (being in a tub or pool) seems to help…no clue why. And because someone else asked in the comments…..yes I AM RH negative strangely….there really seems to be some strange connections to being RH negative, and now I’m curious if that has anything to do with the effects of solar flares.
7 September 2017 @ 4:22 pm
I’m exhausted and have a horrible migraine. My mom said a lot of people at her work have also complained about being tired and having headaches.
9 September 2017 @ 7:01 am
I have had migaines Sept 8 2017 10am – 2pm and Sept 9 2am EST. I also had migraines Sept 7 2pm-3:30pm and 5pm-7pm EST. Also Sept 3rd 10am-6pm. And Sept 2 8:30am-11:30am and 2pm-4:45pm. EST.
11 September 2017 @ 4:09 pm
Weirdly, I seem to get migraines, pretty consistently, 12 hours or so before a geomagnetic storm is registered. They almost ways between 60-72 hours.
11 September 2017 @ 4:10 pm
*the migraines almost always last between 60-72 hours.
15 September 2017 @ 1:33 pm
I have had migraines on and off since the eclipse.
Generally from 11am until dark.
The migraines go away when it is very cloudy.
This is not usual.
Ordinarily – I am also emf sensitive and cannot use cell phones without getting a head ache.
12 March 2018 @ 12:55 pm
Bad migraine started yesterday. It got really awful and intense during the night through early morning. It’s the middle of the afternoon and still with me but not as severe. I’m reading in the news today that there’s a solar storm heading our way. We had another solar storm a few weeks ago on Valentine’s Day that gave me an even deadlier migraine than this one.
21 April 2018 @ 5:11 am
I’m o-neg and have been checking space weather sites today as for the last 2-days have woke up with a headache and the sense of being soaked in negative energy.
I’ve found that 19/20th April we were being bombarded by a big solar storm one that extended the northern lights into the US
2 May 2021 @ 7:58 am
Solar Flares are very painful. Severe migraine attacks every time. I know they are happening before NASA reports, so I have to rely on solar wind speed and the formation of coronal hole. The pain correlates to the intensity of flare and is always very painful. I experience every symptom. So painful. Very afraid of M and X class. G class are too much to handle. Feels like I need to go to a cave.
1 November 2021 @ 3:02 pm
i came from a google search because the solar fare that was much lauded on the 31st October 31 – literally floored me. I have sensitive sinuses – meaning changes in air pressure that comes before terrestrial storms give me headaches; almost predictably. I’m no wuss when it comes to head pain; yet yesterday was a serious migraine level of agony. I was literally sat rocking and screaming; vomiting (as usual reflex when headaches get bad) sobbing, snot – the whole pathetic works.
I just wanted to add my discomfort to your page. as far as I’m concerned I’m keeping my damn eye out for more solar flares and stocking up on the painkiller.
2 February 2022 @ 9:17 pm
Yes I am RH Neg. And I suffer from migraines they are 3-7days long, yes I can throw up outta no where when solar flare is near or happening. The migraine intensifies when flare happens. Extreme sensitivity to any light whether it’s just a bright day out or headlights at night. Have to hide in dark. Always can feel weather coming by at least 3days away. When flares happen migraine always above left eye through sinuses and into jaw bone to back of neck. I’m getting these migraines weekly now.
18 February 2023 @ 6:18 pm
I live in Alaska and when the solar flares are more powerful, I not only get extremely painful migraines, I also get very dizzy, and just sick throughout my body. And it’s not in the usual way I feel with my chronic migraines, it’s much different and more impact full, much more painful. I also feel very fatigued and depressed. And there’s a direct pattern, that I’ve tracked, with these solar flares, the Aurora here, and how sick I get on those days or during those times.
18 February 2023 @ 6:29 pm
To add to my previous comment: We just had a solar flare, G2 flare, yesterday, and I was in so much pain and so sick I considered going to the E.R., which I described in my previous comment above. Thankfully, I had medications to use but it hardly covered how bad I was feeling. The Aurora activity was significant as well; however, due to the overcast skies we were unable to see any of it. But this week, we did have another flare, G1, which resulted in another major Aurora display that was amazing. And yes, I did end up with a pretty big migraine that day but nothing close to what I experienced last night.
22 January 2024 @ 3:31 pm
All your feedback here is much more of value to me than any of these fancy studies. I too suffer from migraine at certain spaceweather conditions. What helped me a lot is Feverfew. I take 2 capsules at once when I know there are solarflares to be expected and maintain with one capsule thrice a day. Hope this helps someone.