We hear discussion regarding migraine triggers all the time. Why do they start and why do they stop? Hormonal fluctuations, stress, and barometric changes are just a few triggers of migraine onset. Recently however the question “how does migraine stop?” was posed to several leading headache specialists. While understanding that drugs can bring about the end of a migraine attack, the investigators wanted to know if there is a “natural” conclusion to a headache. Are there triggers of termination? Robert E. Shapiro, MD, PhD at the University of Vermont believes the end of a migraine attack is the final round in a sequence of events rather than the subsiding of the initialed triggered circumstance. Sleep is the most common terminator of headache. Reports dating to Hippocrates suggest that taking a nap can resolve a headache. Vomiting is also a termination trigger. Dr. Shapiro points out that sleeping and vomiting can particularly help children with headache.
It seems likely that migraine termination is an active process, and is not related to the events that triggered the attack…. Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain January, 2012 Andrew H. Ahn, MD, PhD; K.C. Brennan, MD