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MILWAUKEE - A meteorologist often talks about fronts moving through, but it’s not just a colored line on the map. The deeper science of that colored line explains a slew of changes in the atmosphere such as wind direction, temperature, moisture, and barometric pressure.
Breaking down barometric pressure
What we know:
According to the National Weather Service, barometric pressure, also known as atmospheric pressure, is the pressure exerted by the Earth's atmosphere at any given point. It is determined by taking the product of the gravitational acceleration at the point and the mass of the unit area column of air above the point.
To make it simple, the atmospheric pressure is the pressure pushing on you.
Now, there is a correlation of changes in pressure causing headaches, but it does not directly cause them.
Scientists can't independently study the change in pressure because other weather parameters are constantly changing as well.
Medical view
Dig deeper:
Studies have shown that a rapid change in barometric pressure, such as when a front is nearby, can trigger headaches by aggravating symptoms such as sinus pain, watery eyes, and postnasal drip. How?
Well, nasal and sinus cavities have air inside of them. When there is a drastic change in air pressure, they try to equalize the pressure internally to the pressure outside. If the body has trouble equalizing the pressure, it can cause uncomfortable pain.
People swim in the Sky Pool, a transparent swimming pool bridge across two exclusive residential blocks standing next to the US Embassy in Nine Elms, south London, on the first day of meteorological summer. Picture date: Tuesday June 1, 2021. (Photo …
This happens to your body more often than you realize. Going up in an airplane, riding in an elevator, or swimming to the bottom of a deep pool are all examples of the pressure changing, and you often feel it in your ears.
Our ears try to equalize the pressure so we do not feel pain. In these examples, that is why you may often notice pressure or popping in your ears as air pushes out of them to match the outside level.
It is not just your equilibrium that is impacted by pressure, but studies are still being done on how the change in barometric pressure affects the human brain.
The body and brain does not like change, so a combination of changes can physically alter and impact the human brain—scientists do not know all the specifics yet because, as mentioned earlier, it is hard to isolate and study just one parameter.
Ways to reduce headaches
What you can do:
Weather is only part of the equation why humans get headaches. Other factors such as stress, medication, hormones, sleep deprivation, all contribute too.
Ways to help mitigate headaches will depend on the person, but doctors say the best thing to do is get enough sleep, stay hydrated, and reduce environmental triggers (especially for allergy sufferers) to decrease inflammation in nasal/sinus areas.
Other things that some people report decreasing headaches include: wearing sunglasses, managing stress, avoiding foods that can create headaches, increasing magnesium oxide (dark leafy greens, fish, avocado, bananas) and vitamin B2 (milk, meat, eggs, nuts) prior to a storm system moving in.
You can take anti-inflammatory medication, but it is important to consult your doctor before making any changes.
Keeping a headache diary and tracking the weather prior to pressure changes can also be an important step. You can track weather trends by watching your FOX6 meteorologists on TV and streaming on FOX Local.
The Source: Information is provided by: FOX6 Weather Experts, The National Weather Service, Cleveland Clinic, Ear Nost and Throat Specialty Care of Minnesota, Association of Migraine Disorders