Migraines: “Usually a severe headache felt as a throbbing pain at the front or side of the head”, according to the NHS online . For me, the experience feels more like a hammer slowly pounding at every synapse in my brain for hours on end.I first experienced a migraine when I was 18 and in my final year of school. I woke up one morning with the sensation that my brain had grown a layer of cling film over it. I walked around for a week confused and dizzy, convinced that I was experiencing some kind of stress-induced psychosis.It was only when I was finally taken to a neurologist that I was diagnosed; I suffer from ‘migraines with aura’. This ‘aura’, is unfortunately not a luminous glow around my person, but rather a word used to describe the symptoms which often precede a migraine. These can range from slight dizziness to extreme nausea to light sensitivity (medically known as photophobia). For some, however, experiencing an aura can seriously affect their vision, cause paralysis and speech difficulties.Research shows that migraines are more common in women than men. The NHS estimates that one in five women in the UK suffer from migraines, compared to one in every 15 men. Statistics released by the Migraine Research Foundation revealed that of more than 38 million American sufferers, 28 million were women. This obviously prompts the question: Why?Dr. Nazeli Manukyan is a headache specialist at the National Migraine Centre . She explains that it is a “well known fact” women suffer from migraines more than men. She adds, “Women have migraines three times more frequently than men. The underlying reason is most likely hormones and genetic predisposition.”The exact cause of migraines is as yet unknown, although there is a strong link to the menstrual cycle. The Migraine Research Foundation notes that girls are more likely to experience their first migraine in the year they get their period than at any other time in their lives. The cause of this may be levels of oestrogen, one of the two main sex hormones found in women. The Mayo Clinic suggests that “the hormones oestrogen and progesterone play key roles in regulating the menstrual cycle and pregnancy and may also affect headache related chemicals in the brain.” Thus, the hormones intrinsic to periods and pregnancy may also be at the root of women’s migraines too.