Just as moods get affected by the weather, so do weather changes trigger headache pains. Statistics from the National Headache Foundation (NHF) survey reveal that 3 out of 4 people who had frequent headaches reported weather or barometric pressure changes as triggers.

In the same survey designed to identify the environmental factors considered by patients to be major headache triggers, bright or flickering lights, strong odors, cigarette smoke, and loud music were also frequently cited.

According to NHF Executive Director Suzanne E. Simons, people often have trouble identifying their own headache triggers because a combination of factors may be involved.

?It can take a lot of detective work, and that is why keeping a headache diary is so important,? said Simons. A headache diary kept over a three-month period can be one of the best tools your physician has for making an accurate diagnosis.

There are about 28 million Americans suffering from migraine headaches, with 25% of women and 8% of men experiencing one or more migraines over the course of a lifetime.

Based on the survey of nearly 200 frequent headache sufferers, about 1 out of 3 reported limited ability to travel because of headaches, and 3 out of 4 respondents said they avoided bars or clubs to limit their exposure to cigarette smoke. About 51% of headache sufferers reported being unable to attend concerts with loud music; 38% said they limited their time at the computer; while 74% said their ability to participate in outdoor activities had been restricted because of changes in weather, altitude, high winds, or bright lights. All these figures represent those who attempt to keep headaches from happening.

While it is not clear how weather changes might trigger headaches, Atlanta-based neurologist Leslie Kelman, MD, said that some research studies, however, suggest that they do.

In one study reported in 2004, researchers compared weather data from the National Weather Service to headache calendars kept by patients who believed weather played a major role in their headaches.

They concluded that while it appeared that weather variables may have a link to headaches, more patients thought weather was a trigger than was the case.

Kelman, who is medical director of the Headache Center of Atlanta, said that she always hear it from her patients. ?Many of them tell me that even before they are aware of a shift in the weather they notice a change in their headaches,? Kelman added.

In Kelman's own survey of 1,207 migraine sufferers, 80% of respondents cited stress as a headache trigger, 57% reported that not eating triggered migraines, and 53% and 50%, respectively, reported weather changes and sleep disturbances as triggers.

In the same survey, reported last May, 65% of female patients said hormone fluctuations triggered their headaches.

To some people, one trigger may not be enough, but several triggers will definitely give them the headache. People should learn how to figure out their triggers so they can certainly avoid some of them and prevent at least some of their headaches.