Is the Heat Giving You a Headache?

It’s not just in your mind: High temps can trigger migraines in many. Here’s how to prevent them

Kimberly Goad,

AARP

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En español

Published August 12, 2025

orange head illustration with pain lines

AARP Staff

Around 1 in 10 older adults get migraine headaches on a regular basis. If you’re that one, this summer is surely having its way with you.

Among the many triggers for migraine headaches — stress, lack of sleep, flashing lights, strong smells, loud noises — a dramatic change in weather is one of the most common, says Vincent Martin, M.D., director of the Headache and Facial Pain Center at the University of Cincinnati’s Gardner Neuroscience Institute and president of the National Headache Foundation. That’s true year-round, no matter the season. And yet Martin suggests the changes brought on by the steamy combination of heat and humidity are especially brutal for the migraine sufferer.

In a study presented earlier this summer at the American Headache Society’s annual scientific meeting, Martin and a group of researchers compared the daily headache diaries of 660 migraine patients who logged the frequency and severity of their headaches. When they compared the 71,000 or so diary entries against regional weather data for the same period, they found that for every 10-degree increase in daily temperatures, there was a 6 percent increase in the frequency of migraines on that day.

What is it about the heat that carries such a wallop? Actually, it’s not the heat itself that’s entirely to blame but something you may pay little to no attention to when you’re checking the forecast: the weather pattern.

“There are many different weather patterns that can trigger headaches,” explains Martin. For instance, “an approaching low-pressure system can cause barometric pressure to decline and temperatures and humidity to go up.” That combination is believed to be a perfect storm for triggering migraines.

“A lot of times, people will have a headache before the low-pressure system arrives — they’re like human barometers,” Martin adds. “They can pick up that an approaching low-pressure system is going to cause the barometric pressure to decline, along with the rise in temperatures and humidity and then eventually rain if the humidity doesn’t decline.”

How exactly they’re able to do that has yet to be determined (the research is inconclusive), but “one possibility is that there are sensors in the nose and sinuses that pick up these changes in barometric pressure,” says Martin. “Or it could be occurring in the inner ear. The inner ear can actually sense the barometric pressure falling.”

A number of other summer-centric factors may also figure in. For instance, research suggests lightning plays a specific role in triggering headaches, increasing the frequency in people who regularly get migraines by about 30 percent on days when lightning flashes across the sky, as compared with days when it doesn’t.

Although experts aren’t entirely certain why that is, “it’s probably that the lightning is affecting the chemicals in the air,” says Martin.

How to prevent a heat-induced headache

It’s not as if summer has it out for migraine sufferers alone. Everyone is susceptible to any number of heat-related health issues caused by extreme temps; older adults in particular.

Much of the blame goes to the way the body handles rising temps as we age. Chronic health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes can also impair the body’s response to heat, and certain medications interfere with hydration and the body’s ability to handle heat. “As we age, our ability to effectively regulate our core body temperature decreases,” explains Marianna Vinokur, D.O., assistant professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We generally sweat less with age, and perspiration is an incredibly important cooling mechanism for the body.

“Some older adults also restrict hydrating if they don’t have easy access to a bathroom,” she adds. “And certain medications can compound the body’s ability to [maintain core body temperature]. For example, diuretics increase the need to urinate, resulting in dehydration, and can cause electrolyte imbalances. Medications such as diphenhydramine [Benadryl] and some antidepressants can slow or block the sweat response.”

Here’s what you can do to avoid the migraine-triggering effects of summer:

1. Stay hydrated. The National Academy of Medicine recommends 3.7 liters per day for men and 2.7 liters per day for women. Since around 20 percent of our overall fluid needs are satisfied through the foods we eat, that comes out to around 12 glasses per day for men and eight for women.

But these are general guidelines; talk to your healthcare provider about how your overall health and lifestyle may alter that equation. And keep in mind, it isn’t just water you need to consume. “Keep yourself hydrated not just with fluids, but with electrolytes,” says Martin.

2. Avoid bright sunlight. Those bright sunny days of summer can trigger migraines, especially for people who get migraines with aura (flashing lights).

“Migraine has a complicated physiology,” says Vinokur. “Not all migraine attacks have a clear trigger or reason — some just happen. But many migraine patients experience photophobia, or sensitivity to light, and being in bright, direct sunlight may lower the threshold to having a migraine attack.”

In fact, research suggests photophobia affects up to 80 percent of people with migraine and can occur both during and between attacks. Reduce your odds when you’re outdoors: Wear sunglasses with FL-41 lenses or polarized lenses; avoid wearing overly dark lenses, which may make matters worse by increasing light sensitivity over time.

3. Stay indoors when the air quality is bad. A lesser known — but equally potent — trigger? Air pollution. Research, including a 2009 study published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, shows a link between even short-term exposure to elevated levels of outdoor pollutants and an uptick in emergency room visits among people with migraine.

How to determine pollution levels on any given day? Go to AirNow.gov and enter your ZIP code to check air quality in your neighborhood.

4. Try medication. “If behavioral changes are not enough, move to over-the-counter pain-relieving medications such as acetaminophen and, if appropriate, ibuprofen or naproxen,” suggests Vinokur. If you have frequent migraines (more than one per week), you may benefit from more aggressive treatment. Talk to your doctor about whether you’re a good candidate for one of the preventive migraine medications.

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Kimberly Goad is a New York-based journalist who has covered health for some of the nation’s top consumer publications. Her work has appeared in Women’s Health, Prevention, Health and Reader's Digest.