Migraine and exercise

How exercise can help migraine

Exercise doesn’t have to mean running a marathon or lifting weights in the gym. It can be anything where you are physically active. That might mean walking rather than driving, carrying heavy shopping bags, or doing active chores at home or in the garden. It’s well known that keeping active is important for overall health. Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing a number of different health conditions. It can also help with managing stress and improve your sleep and wellbeing.

As well as more general health benefits, exercise can also have direct benefits for migraine. Exercise stimulates your body to release chemicals called endorphins and enkephalins. These are natural chemicals produced by your body that can relieve pain and improve mood. Exercise may also have a positive impact on migraine through its effects on sleep, general health and wellbeing.

Studies have shown that regular exercise may:

• reduce the frequency of migraine attacks
• reduce the duration of migraine attacks (how long they last)
• reduce how severe migraine attacks are.

Regular exercise may also help to protect against chronic migraine. This is when migraine attacks become much more frequent.

Although exercise can be beneficial, it’s unlikely to stop your migraine attacks altogether. It’s important to consider other aspects of your lifestyle too, such as your diet, sleep routine and stress levels. It might be helpful to record this in a migraine diary. You should also talk to a pharmacist or your GP about your treatment options.

Why exercise can be difficult with migraine

Although we know it can be beneficial, getting regular exercise can be difficult if you have migraine. This can be for several reasons.

• Some people find exercise to be a migraine trigger. If you get migraine attacks after exercise, it may put you off exercising.
• Physical activity – or even just simple movements – can make migraine symptoms worse. If you have frequent migraine attacks, this may make it difficult to find a time when you feel able to exercise.
• Vestibular migraine is a type of migraine where you also get symptoms like severe dizziness and vertigo. This can make exercise particularly difficult.
• There can be other factors besides your migraine that limit your ability to exercise too. These may include other health conditions or disabilities, time pressures and lack of motivation.

Below, we talk about how to find the right balance with exercise if you have migraine.

Exercise as a migraine trigger

Migraine that may be triggered by exercise is sometimes referred to as ‘exercise-induced migraine’. If you find exercise to be a trigger, it might be because the exercise you are doing is very intense. Or you may just be doing much more than you are used to.

In addition to the exercise itself, there may be other factors that contribute to migraine attacks after exercise. For example, not eating or drinking enough before exercise. Depending on the environment you are in, there might be other potential triggers too, such as lights or noise in a gym. You could consider wearing a cap or headphones to combat this.

Other common migraine attack triggers include stress, a lack of sleep or change in sleep patterns and hormones. It’s more likely to be a combination of several different factors, rather than one single thing that triggers a migraine attack. And it can be hard to tell how much is actually down to the exercise itself.

If you feel that exercise is a trigger, you may start to fear doing any form of exercise and avoid it altogether. This can end up in cycle where exercise is then more likely to trigger an attack, as your body isn’t used to it. Anxiety about exercising may end up contributing to triggering a migraine attack too.

To overcome these issues, it’s important to build up the amount you do gradually. Starting with low-intensity exercise that you feel manageable can be helpful. This can be a little as doing step ups onto a stair. Doing this in a safe and controlled way means you may start to improve your tolerance to exercise. You can start to gain the benefits of exercise, without the worry of making yourself feel worse.

What to do if you get a migraine attack when exercising

If you do start to feel a migraine attack coming on when exercising, stop. It can be helpful to keep an emergency or ‘rescue’ migraine kit with you if you are exercising away from home. This might include any acute medicines you usually take, a snack and a drink. Make sure you have details of someone to contact if you start to feel unwell and may need help getting home too.

If you develop a headache or migraine for the first time after exercise, it’s important to get this checked with your doctor. There are specific types of headache associated with exercise. Your doctor can check for these and discuss any recommended treatment options.

What type of exercise is best for migraine

It’s important to find the type and level of exercise that you feel comfortable with and is manageable for you. Different studies have looked at the following types of exercise in managing migraine.

• Aerobic exercise. This means any activity that increases your heart and breathing rates. It might include brisk walking, jogging, running, cycling, dancing, swimming and team sports. Aerobic exercise can have a direct impact on pain regulation, and may improve your mood too.
• Muscle-strengthening/resistance exercise. This can include lifting weights, yoga and Pilates. It also includes exercises where you use your own body weight – such as push-ups, sit-ups and squats. These types of exercises can be particularly helpful in reducing neck pain, which is often associated with migraine.
• Relaxation exercises and techniques. These include yoga, progressive muscle relaxation and breathing techniques. These types of exercise may help with reducing muscle tension, as well as managing stress.
• Vestibular rehabilitation. This is a particular type of exercise therapy that aims to help problems with dizziness and balance problems. It’s also known as balance retraining. There is some evidence that it may be helpful in people with vestibular migraine. But further studies are needed to understand how well it works. Talk to a healthcare professional before trying these exercises.

A combination of aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises is likely to be best for most people. This combination is considered important for general health benefits too. All of these types of exercise can be started slowly and gently, increasing as you feel you can.

You may also find exercises focusing on relaxation, dizziness and balance helpful. This will depend on your individual circumstances.

How much exercise should I do?

Any amount of exercise you can do will be beneficial for your general health. And even small amounts may be helpful for migraine. The important thing isn’t so much the amount of exercise you do or how intense it is. It’s more important to find what is manageable for you and what you can stick to. Try to do something you enjoy. It’s important not to go overboard on days where you feel well, then follow this with periods of inactivity. It is this inconsistency that is most likely to trigger migraine attacks.

The key is to try and get into a pattern of consistent, regular activity, within what you feel able to do. Even taking some small steps into being more active will be beneficial. This may mean trying to fit a walk into your daily routine for example, and spending less time sitting down.

Exercising during a migraine attack

People often want to know whether it is OK to exercise during a migraine attack. You may even wonder whether exercise can stop a migraine attack.

Strenuous exercise or even just moving around can often many people feel worse during a migraine attack. But some people find that gentle exercise, like stretching and yoga, helps them to cope with a migraine attack. Getting outside for some fresh air or a short, gentle walk might make you feel better too. It’s important to listen to your body and only do what you find helpful.

Most studies on migraine and exercise have looked at whether exercise helps to reduce or prevent migraine attacks. There are not many studies looking at whether exercise can stop a migraine attack. There have been a few cases where people have reported a positive effect. But there is very little evidence about this. It’s safe to exercise if you find it helpful during a migraine attack. But it is unlikely to stop the migraine attack.

Exercise tips for migraine

• Pace yourself. Start with gentle exercise, such as walking – and build up exercise intensity and duration gradually.
• Plan ahead. Set a regular routine so that you can ensure that exercise is built into your lifestyle along with regular meals and regular bedtimes.
• If you feel unable to do your usual types of exercise due to symptoms like head or neck pain, consider trying other forms of exercise instead. It is also fine to have a break and return when you feel ready.
• Make sure you have eaten enough before exercise to avoid drops in your blood sugar level. Leave at least one to two hours to digest your food after eating.
• Keep your fluid intake up by drinking before, during and after exercise. This will help to replace fluid lost through sweating and avoid dehydration, which can trigger or worsen migraine. Drinking water can be enough. But you may also find isotonic or sports drinks help. These contain sugar and electrolytes, to replace those lost through exercise.
• If at any stage you feel uncomfortable – stop. You may not have been able to exercise because of other factors. These may include a change in sleep pattern, what you have eaten, how much you have had to drink, weather or hormonal changes, for example. Try again on another day.
• See your doctor if there is any change, or anything unusual for you – such as developing a headache or migraine for the first time following exercise.

About our information

This information has been written by The Migraine Trust Information and Support Services team. It has been reviewed by our panel of expert health professionals and people affected by migraine.

Our information has been awarded the PIF TICK quality mark for trustworthy health information.

If you have feedback on our information, please get in touch at: feedback@migrainetrust.org

Last reviewed: December 2025 | Next review due: December 2028