Can alcohol cause migraines?

Migraines cause severe or moderate pain that tends to be a headache with a throbbing pain on one side of the head. Their exact cause is unknown, but alcohol can be a common trigger for many people who suffer from them.¹

Find out why, and what you can do to avoid alcohol-related migraines.

Migraines are a common health condition affecting about 10 million people in the UK.⁴

Does drinking alcohol trigger migraines?

Drinking alcohol is a trigger for migraine in some people – one study found around a third (37.8%) of people who get migraines are sensitive to alcohol.⁵ Others react to hunger, certain foods, and stress.

The mechanism for alcohol triggering migraine and other headaches remains uncertain, but it is likely to be related to the way alcohol affects your brain cells.⁶

Do particular drinks trigger migraines?

Among people who find alcohol can trigger a migraine, most find that any alcoholic drink can trigger one but others may find that particular drinks are more of a problem.

Red wine has been highlighted as a migraine trigger for some people. There is some scientific evidence to suggest that substances found in red wine could cause issues for people with certain sensitivities or intolerances.⁷

For example, some people have an intolerance to histamine which is usually found in larger amounts in red wine than white and can be associated with migraines.⁸

Red wine can also cause a rise in the level of a type of brain chemical called serotonin (5-HT) in the blood. This has been linked to migraine headaches, though once again the relationship is poorly understood.⁹

Sulphites from wine are often blamed for causing headaches too (though not migraines specifically),¹⁰ and white wine usually contains higher levels of sulphites than red wine.¹¹

Advice if you suffer from migraines

1. Keep a diary to understand your triggers
   Migraines and their triggers are very individual – what affects one person may cause no problems for the next. Many migraine sufferers find that keeping a diary helps them identify their own personal triggers and understand their patterns of migraines better.
   

   Keeping a diary will mean you have a record of your symptoms alongside what food you’ve eaten and what you have drunk – including how much alcohol, its type, and also how much caffeine you’ve consumed. Stress can play a big part in migraines,¹² so you might notice you’re more prone to getting one after a difficult week at work. For women, hormonal changes related to periods are often a factor.¹³

2. Reduce your risk of an alcohol-related migraine
   The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines are designed to help all adults keep the health risks from drinking alcohol low.
   

   However, some migraine sufferers may find even small amounts of certain alcoholic drinks cause problems for them, so if that’s you it’s probably best to avoid those drinks altogether. Studies have shown that migraine sufferers may suffer migraine symptoms even at low levels of drinking.¹⁴

Next steps

Take the Drinking Check

If you're curious about your drinking, take our Drinking Check quiz below to find out your risk level and what this means for your health.

Help to get started with reducing your drinking

If you want to reduce your drinking but don't know where to start, read our step-by-step guide.

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Support to keep track of your units

If you want to monitor how many units you're drinking, you can download the MyDrinkaware app. As well as calculating units, you can also track your sleep and set goals to help you moderate your drinking. A link is available at the bottom of the page.