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ROUTINE AND TRIGGERS

Can Christmas trigger migraines? Lights, scents and late nights

Flashing lights, scented candles and late nights all change in December. What sources say, and how to check which one matters in your own diary.

Published by Migraine Tracker 8 min read

The short answer

We could not find any study showing that Christmas itself triggers migraines. A PubMed search on 6 November 2026 found no study of Christmas lights, trees or candles and migraine. A 2017 study in the journal Headache, using about 12 years of US Google data, found that searches for “migraine” were lower on Christmas Day than on days that were not holidays. Searches are not attacks, but they do not point to a Christmas Day peak.

December does change things people often link to their attacks. In a 2007 study at a US headache centre, about three in four of 1,207 people with migraine reported triggers. Of those, 43.7% reported perfume or odours and 38.1% reported lights. These changes tend to arrive together, so your own diary is the best way to see which of them, if any, matter for you.

What changes in December

Christmas changes lights, smells, sleep, food and drink in the same few days. Vincent Martin, a headache specialist at the University of Cincinnati, calls it “a very headache provocative time”. His list and the Migraine Trust’s both include flashing or bright lights, strong smells, alcohol, food, changes to routine and stress.

What changes in December, and what to write down
What changesWhat to write down
Flashing or bright lightsWhere you were, for how long, and whether you already felt unwell
Candles, perfume, pine and cooking smellsWhich smell, when you noticed it, and whether it seemed unusually strong
Later nights and lie-insWhen you went to bed and when you woke up
DrinksWhat you drank, how much and when
Sweets, rich food and late mealsWhen you ate, and when any craving began
Coffee at different timesWhen you had your first one
Travel and full housesHow long the journey was, and how much noise and company there was
The end of a busy work periodYour last stressful day and your first day off

For practical ideas on getting through the season, the Migraine Trust and the American Migraine Foundation both publish holiday tips. This post looks at a different question: how to tell what matters for you.

Lights: a trigger or an early sign?

Lights are hard to judge because light sensitivity can be part of the attack itself. The Migraine Trust says bright or flickering lights are “frequently reported as triggers”, but also that “many people become more sensitive to light, noise and odours during a migraine attack”. In its words, some people may be “noticing light sensitivity in the very early stages of their attack before they have started feeling unwell”. If the tree lights suddenly seem too bright, the attack may already have begun.

Testing lights in a study has not settled the question. In a 2013 Danish study, 27 people with migraine with aura who said bright or flickering light or strenuous exercise brought on their attacks were exposed on purpose to light, exercise or both. Six reported an attack afterwards: 3 with aura and 3 without. The authors say 4 of 12 people reported migraine after exercise, while nobody developed an attack after the light tests.

The Danish study was small and covered only migraine with aura, and a study room is not a Christmas market, so it cannot rule lights out. It does show that a trigger people feel sure about may not work every time.

Seeing flashing lights that are not there is different. The Migraine Trust says: “If you see flashing lights, sparkles or any other unusual changes to your vision, this could be migraine aura.” It adds that you “should speak to your doctor who can diagnose you and rule out other conditions”.

Trees, candles and scents

We found no study of Christmas trees and migraine, so nobody can say how often a tree is involved. Smells in general are better documented: in the 2007 Cephalalgia study, perfume or odours came sixth among reported triggers, named by 43.7% of the people who reported any trigger, ahead of lights and alcohol.

Which smell matters seems to differ from person to person. Cleveland Clinic reports its headache specialist Emad Estemalik saying artificial scents are the usual concern, including many candles, air fresheners and perfumes. The same article notes that “scents that cause a migraine can vary from person to person”.

Cinnamon shows how far general lists can drift apart. The American Migraine Foundation’s holiday handout says: “Strong scents like pumpkin spice and cinnamon are known migraine triggers.” The Migraine Trust suggests the opposite swap: “Opt for natural scents and spices instead such as oranges, lemons and cinnamon.” Each may be true for some people, and that is the limit of any general list.

As with lights, smell sensitivity can also be part of the attack. A candle that suddenly seems overpowering may be an early sign, not the cause.

Late nights, drinks and days off

Late nights, drinks and a break from work often come together, which makes any one of them hard to blame. Among the people who reported triggers in the 2007 Cephalalgia study, 49.8% named disturbed sleep, 37.8% alcohol and 32.0% sleeping late. The Migraine Trust says: “It often seems to be a change in someone’s usual routine that triggers a migraine attack.”

Some people notice attacks when the pressure lifts. The Migraine Trust says they may be “more likely to have migraine attacks at a weekend or on holiday, when they come to relax”. Our post on weekend migraines covers this let-down effect, along with sleep and caffeine. Our posts on alcohol and chocolate go through two other December suspects.

One fictional Christmas week

A diary can show what came before an attack, but one week cannot show why it happened. Here is a fictional example.

Fictional diary for one Christmas week
DateWhat was differentAttack
23 DecLast day at work. Bed at 23:30.No
24 DecTwo hours at a Christmas market with flashing lights. Bed at 00:15.No
25 DecScented candles at a relative’s house. Two glasses of red wine. Bed at 01:00.No
26 DecWoke at 10:30. First coffee at 11:00. Yawning and tired from noon.Began at 15:00
27 DecStill tired. Quiet day at home.No
28 DecUsual bedtime. Scented candles again in the evening.No
29 DecUsual sleep. An hour under the market lights again.No

It would be easy to blame the wine, or the candles. But the late night, the lie-in, the late coffee and the end of work all came before this attack too, and the yawning at noon may mean it had already started. The candles and lights on 28 and 29 December were not followed by an attack. That does not clear them, because one week proves nothing either way.

A clearer picture takes more attacks, and the days without attacks as well. Our post on chocolate shows how to compare days with and without something, and the guide to reading patterns explains why a pattern is a starting point, not proof of a cause.

What Migraine Tracker records

Migraine Tracker for iPhone and Apple Watch records suspected triggers, symptoms and notes with each attack, so you can look back at December in January.

  • Built-in triggers. The list includes Bright/Flashing Lights, Strong Smells, Alcohol, Red Wine, Chocolate, Too Little Sleep, Irregular Schedule, Letdown (Weekend) and Travel. A trigger records what you suspected, not what caused the attack.
  • Symptoms. The built-in symptoms include Light Sensitivity, Smell Sensitivity and Fatigue, which helps you separate what came with the attack from what came before it.
  • Notes. When you edit an attack or add a past one, you can write a note, such as when you first felt tired or when you went to bed.
  • With Premium. You can add your own triggers, such as Christmas lights. Reports also shows your 5 most common triggers in a period. That list covers attacks only, so it cannot show how often you met a trigger without getting an attack.

When to talk to someone

  • The NHS says to see a GP if “your migraine attacks are severe or getting worse, or lasting longer than usual” or if “you have migraine attacks more than once a week”.
  • The NHS says to “ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111” if you have a migraine attack and “it’s lasted longer than 72 hours” or “aura symptoms last longer than 1 hour at a time”. Outside the UK, contact your local urgent care service.
  • The NHS says to call 999 if you “have a headache that came on suddenly and is extremely painful” or “lose your vision, or have blurred or double vision”. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Not every winter headache is migraine. The NHS lists “a headache” among the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can come from “fires and appliances that burn gas, wood, oil or coal”. It says symptoms “may get worse when you spend time in an affected room or building and get better when you leave or go outside”. If you think you might have carbon monoxide poisoning, it says to “go outside” and “get medical advice as soon as possible”, and to call 999 or go to A&E if someone exposed is “finding it hard to breathe” or has “suddenly become confused”. Outside the UK, call your local emergency number.

Information from the NHS website, as at 061126: Migraine and Carbon monoxide poisoning.

Sources

Sources checked on 6 November 2026. The diary example uses fictional data.

App details checked against Migraine Tracker 1.1.0 on 6 November 2026. The diary example uses fictional data. This post explains record keeping, not medical advice. The sources explain general principles and do not endorse Migraine Tracker.