Migraine & Lucid Dreaming

[SUNDANCE]

I've noticed over the past few months as I try to build routines for lucid dreaming that my migraines have gotten significantly less debilitating. For context, I've suffered from migraines with severe visual and auditory aura since I was child: people's faces will start to blur and fractal, or I will hear what sounds like people murmuring in another room even when I am alone in my home; when it is really severe, I can't look at any sharp inside corners (such as the corner of whatever room I am in, or the inside of a box, or even the crease between pages of a book) because they will start to... split open, for lack of a better description. the two edges start to come apart in a searing light that leaves me completely blind and unable to move through the pain. I take a migraine medication as needed which does help, as long as I catch it early enough, but I've been taking that medication for over a year now and I was still ending up bedridden about every other week. I mean unable to move, to talk, to think, to perceive anything but the pain and fractal light.

In college I had some minor success in treating my migraines with meditation, but never enough that it felt worth it to try and find the time for regular deep meditation within my hectic schedule. My work in creating routines for lucid dreams, or maybe the stronger connection that I've felt to my dreams since beginning it, seems to have had an effect on my migraines that has my doctor confused. Not to mention myself! It's a massive relief, not being completely gut-punched by these migraines all the time, but I don't understand why lucid dreaming work would have caused this. I've gone through all of my other routines and nothing else seems a more likely candidate: if anything, I've been under more stress than usual which usually makes my episodes worse.

I guess this post is part journal, part question. Has anyone else who suffers from migraines with aura noticed improvement when doing lucid dream work? Does anyone with more knowledge of the spiritual backgrounds of the practice have an explanation? I can come up with some fantastical reasons about the pressure of the subconscious weighing and pushing out into the waking mind, but that feels.... silly.

 

[borbponderer]

Migraines are horrible. You have my sympathies. I can't vouch for lucid dream work but paying attention to my gut health has elimated them almost completely.

Caffeine is also factor. I won't drink coffee any more but tea is a manageable way to maintain a moderate caffeine habit.

 

[Digiquo]

I suppose the "why" would depend on what methods for achieving lucid dreaming you are utilizing. If you're using the wake back to bed method (waking up mid way through a normal sleep cycle and returning to sleep shortly after), I would wager the cycle interruption probably affects your brain chemistry in some way that reduces the triggers for your migraines.
Certain supplements/foods/drinks which can aid in lucid dreaming do so because they possess certain minerals/oils/enzymes/etc, and that could also play a factor.
Reality checks would be a much harder reason to pin the donkey's tail on. I can't think of any physiological reason that would influence migraines.

My advice would be stick to what you're doing since it seems to be working, but unless you do some hardcore experimentation and writing down literally every detail, I'm doubtful you'll be able to know for sure the "whys" of this without seeing a some kind of sleep expert. Even then, this could be uncharted territory and even they wouldn't know.

 

[iseht]

I bet this is a genuine side effect of your practice. Psychedelics are well known for disrupting migraines over decent periods of time after a single dose. Meditation practices share many overlapping effects with psychedelics, I would not be at all surprised to find that lucid dreaming practices operate on the same default mode network disruption that meditation and psychedelics do. I'm prone to similar migraines as you and I've found some relief through meditation, but particularly the middle pillar exercise which seems to stop the aura from progressing if I catch it early.

 

[Dènye Patwon]

This may be out of the question but are you certain that they aren't "Cluster Headaches"?

I suffer from them and lately I pick up on mini ones but when they are full blown they are a major pain. Not sure exactly what causes them asides maybe Caffeine.

I'd hope this response isn't taken too far from the original post but, if it even has your doctor confused then maybe it's worth seeing a neurologist to get a sleep study done possibly.

Godspeed.