Amy Mowbray first experienced the terrifying onset of chronic migraine while working a summer job at the Wimbledon Championships at age 21, noticing flickering lines that quickly escalated into nearly complete visual obstruction.

Overwhelmed by throbbing pain, she took a cab home and slept, only to awaken with temporary relief before the headaches returned the following January, leaving her bed-bound at her childhood home.

Migraine is a debilitating neurological condition affecting millions in the UK, with approximately one million enduring chronic migraine, defined as severe head pain for more than half of each month, often accompanied by aura and nausea.

For Amy, symptoms included extreme sensitivity to light and sound, forcing her to quit her job and spend nearly a year bedridden, describing the pain as “suffocating”.

Traditional treatments, including painkillers, beta blockers, and antidepressants, aim to reduce attacks by blocking pain pathways and inflammation, but often only lower migraine frequency by about 40 percent, proving ineffective for many sufferers.

Newer anti-CGRP medications target specific brain pain pathways but fail in up to 40 percent of chronic migraine patients, highlighting that triggers and responses are highly individual.

Patients are often advised to identify and avoid personal triggers like bright lights, stress, foods, or weather changes, but Amy found this approach counterproductive, saying, “All the focus on treatments and triggers took me down a path of feeling worse.”

Her breakthrough came with a strict daily routine, waking at 7:30 a.m., sleeping by 10 p.m., and never skipping meals, which gradually reduced migraine frequency despite initially limiting her social life.

ProfessorPeter Goadsby, director at King’s Clinical Research Facility and 2021 Brain Prize recipient, supports lifestyle adjustments, explaining that sleep and circadian rhythms influence brain structure and that disruptions can trigger sensory overload.

A 2025 Harvard study reinforced that unpredictable daily routines increase migraine risk by 88 percent, confirming the benefits of maintaining consistent sleep, meals, and exercise.

Since 2022, Amy no longer meets criteria for chronic migraine, experiencing attacks only occasionally, and marvels at her progress, noting, “Relief came from such a simple change – I can’t believe how far I’ve come.”