Hey Migraine Mentees 👋 

Today’s newsletter takes another 5 minutes to read—so if you’ve only got 60 seconds, here’s what you need to know:

• Resetting clocks + migraine - Even tiny schedule shifts can nudge a sensitized brain toward a same-day attack.

• Light as medicine - Get morning outdoor light to anchor your clock and dim screens/blue-block at night to protect melatonin.

• Protect your sleep - If insomnia commonly tags along with migraine, CBT-I can steady sleep and lower attack frequency.

• Melatonin, used wisely - When/if to try it, how to dose, who should be cautious, and how to loop in your clinician.

• Daytime guardrails - Enjoy caffeine, but time it smart, as earlier is safer for sleep and next-day symptoms.

• Safety first - Set a rescue plan, watch for drug interactions, avoid acute-med overuse, and know red-flag symptoms that need medical care.

⏰ This week we’re turning the fall clock changes from a trigger into a strategy, where we focus on working with your rhythms, not against them.

🔘 We’re also looking to gather feedback about your personal consumption of medications to manage your migraine symptoms, so don’t forget to submit your vote on the poll!

🧠 The Migraine Mentors

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👉️ In This Week’s Edition…

• 🥡 Weekly Take-Out

  • Meme of The Week - 📦️ They Can’t Find Me If I Can’t See Them…

• 🔈️ The Migraine Mentors Minicast - Podcast Series

  • Daylight Savings Time and Migraine - How To Prevent Flare Ups From Sleep Changes

• ⚡️ This Week’s Poll

  • How Many Medications Do You Currently Take?

• 📜 Read This Now!

  • Creating Your “Fall Back” Game Plan For Daylight Saving Time Changes and Migraine

• 🍴 Migraine-Friendly Recipe of the Week

  • Quinoa-Stuffed Zucchini Boats

🥡 WEEKLY TAKE-OUT

🚦 Meme of The Week

🗞️ MIGRAINE MINICAST

🎧 Daylight Savings Time and Migraine - How To Prevent Flare Ups From Sleep Changes

🥡 Time shifts can rattle a sensitive brain, even when we “gain” an hour.

This week’s discussion focuses on evidence-backed strategies to keep sleep steady and pain pathways quiet during the upcoming daylight savings time (DST) that start on November 2nd in the US.

🧠 In this week’s Migraine Mentors Minicast, we cover:

• Why clocks + circadian rhythms matter for migraine, and how small schedule shifts can raise same-day attack risks.

• Using light as medicine by using morning outdoor lighting to anchor your clock and evening dimming/blue-blocking to protect melatonin production.

• How to protect your sleep by using CBT-I to help if insomnia often tags along with migraine.

• Discussing melatonin use, dosing, sharing who should be cautious, and how to partner with your clinician.

• Daytime guardrails for caffeine use to maximize sleep while also enjoying the world’s most widely used drug.

• Deploying a safety plan and how to watch for medication interactions, avoid acute-med overuse, and know red flags that warrant medical care.

💬 This week’s episode will help you work with your clock, not against it…

👇 Tap below to listen now! 👇

📜 TOP ARTICLE

🕰️ Creating Your “Fall Back” Game Plan For Daylight Saving Time Changes and Migraine

If time changes throw your brain into a tailspin, there’s a high chance you’re about to start November off on the wrong foot…

For those of you living in the United States (and not in Arizona or Hawaii), Daylight Savings Time (DST) is set to take an effect on November 2nd, which means you’ve got less than 4 weeks to prepare for it.

While there are many opinions on whether or not we still need DST, the truth of the matter is that DST can have significant impacts on our overall health, especially for those who struggle with chronic migraine and the influence sleep has on them.

As weird as it sounds, even the “extra” hour we gain in the fall could theoretically scramble sleep, alter your appetite, and enhance pain sensitivity for specific individuals, setting you up for a migraine attack…

🧬 Why Time Changes Matter for Migraine

• A 2025 population analysis found migraine frequency spikes one week after the spring switch to DST in the spring, with a modest improvement after the fall return (for most), pointing to synchronization stressors of the circadian rhythm as the culprit.

• Migraine has measurable circadian fingerprints, with attacks clustering at certain times of day/year for many.

• Interestingly, melatonin is often lower in people with migraine, especially during attacks.

• Sleep deviation and fragmentation are synchronization potent, same-day migraine drivers, and while having a migraine attack does not predict sleep duration, the pain associated with it does. 

👉️ TLDR: Even small changes in the sleep, circadian rhythms, and time changes can tip a sensitized system toward an attack.

📆 Your 7-Day “Fall Back” Routine to Prevent An Upcoming Migraine Flare Up

1) Phase Your Schedule by 15 minutes Per Day 🛌 

A week before the change on November 2nd, move your bedtime and wake times 10–15 minutes earlier each day. This gentle “phase advance” of sleep mimics what circadian clinicians do in clinic to reduces sleep deviation.

2) Make Light Your Friend, Not Your Enemy ☀️ 

Andrew Huberman is big on this, for good reason…

Getting 30–60 minutes of outdoor light within an hour of waking can anchor your internal clock and tune your circadian rhythms to help improve wakefulness during the day and optimize your sleep window at night.

Similarly, after sunset, dim screens and consider blue-light blocking in the last 2–3 hours before bed. RCTs show evening blue-blockers advance melatonin onset and improve sleep in at-risk groups.

As we’ve highlighted in past editions, evening blue light, conversely, delays sleep timing, quality, and duration.

3) Protect Your Sleep to Protect Your Health 🧷 

If insomnia likes to tag along with your migraine symptoms, as it does for so many, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-I) has been shown to cut migraine days while simultaneously improving sleep outcomes.

Simple measures of using CBT-I to improve sleep and quality of life can also have beneficial impacts on migraine frequency and intensity, providing evidence that taking an integrated approach to treatment will inherently generate larger returns than single lane approaches.

4) Use Melatonin Wisely… 💊 

In a randomized, double-blind trial, 3 mg of melatonin was as effective as 25 mg of Amitriptyline and better than placebo for prevention, with fewer side effects…

And yet, there’s a chance you may not do well with melatonin, so always use caution when you hear outcomes like this!

If you and your clinician do decide to try it, it’s best to dose melatonin 30–60 minutes before your target bedtime during the time-change window (and beyond, if helpful).

🏁 Best Practices During The Day

• ☕️ Cut caffeine off at noon. Evening caffeine (After 12 PM) can cause notable delays in sleep and can amplify next-day attack risks via sleep disruption.

  • Caffeine has a 6 hour half-life, meaning that if you stop consuming at noon, you still have 50% of the caffeine you drank moving around your brain and body at 6 PM and 25% remaining at midnight. Yikes… 👀 

• 💊 Keep your rescue meds and devices handy. If you’re adjusting routines, set out your acute plan before something takes a turn for the worst (triptans/ditans/gepants, etc., NSAID combos, or prescribed neuromodulation devices).

  • Consistent, early treatment helps prevent escalation and can significantly alter the trajectory of your symptoms. 

💬 Time is Of The Essence… When Managing Migraine

Your brain likes rhythms. In fact, in runs on rhythms.

Every organ and tissue inside the human body has a circadian rhythm that regulates the function and output of that system, providing even further evidence of the importance of consistency and frequency with daily habits.

📍 As you can see, even a small, proactive routine the week before “fall back” DST can help you steady your sleep, stabilize pain pathways, and hopefully make the seasonal shift uneventful.

It’s time to work with your clock, not against it…

🧠 The Migraine Mentors

🍴MIGRAINE-FRIENDLY RECIPE

🥒 Quinoa-Stuffed Zucchini Boats

🥕 Ingredients (serves 2–3)

• 3 medium zucchini

• 1 cup cooked quinoa (use fresh, not leftover)

• 1 medium carrot, finely diced

• 1 tbsp olive oil (plus more for drizzling)

• 1 clove garlic, minced (optional if sensitive)

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or basil

• Sea salt to taste

📖 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the centers to create “boats.”

3. Lightly brush the zucchini halves with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet.

4. In a skillet, sauté diced carrot (and garlic, if using) in olive oil for 3–4 minutes until just tender.

5. Stir in the cooked quinoa and herbs. Season with sea salt.

6. Fill each zucchini half with the quinoa mixture.

7. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes, until the zucchini is tender.

🧠 Why It’s Migraine & Histamine Friendly

• Fresh ingredients

  • No aged, fermented, or leftover foods — these are common histamine triggers.

• No glutamate-rich or processed ingredients

  • Avoids aged cheese, soy sauce, or vinegar that can increase excitatory neurotransmitters linked with migraines.

• Gentle digestion

  • Zucchini and carrots are low-histamine, low-acid vegetables that are soothing for sensitive stomachs often affected by migraine-related nausea.

• Healthy fats

  • Olive oil provides anti-inflammatory support without triggering histamine release.

• No refined carbs or sugars

  • Prevents the insulin spikes that often precede headache onset.