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Headaches shrink the brain
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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In Copenhagen, a group of specialists came to the conclusion during their research that frequent headaches and migraines can cause irreversible damage to brain cells and even affect its volume.
In one of the research centers, scientists were interested in the question of the effect of migraines on the brain; previously it was claimed that severe headaches cannot significantly damage brain cells, but a new study has proven the exact opposite.
The new study was conducted over several years and scientists were able to find out that about 15% of the world's population suffers from severe headaches. In addition, headaches accompanied by a feeling of anxiety are even more dangerous for human health, in particular, in such conditions, not only do brain cells begin to die, but its volumes also decrease.
The scientists came to these results after analyzing many images of the brain of healthy people and people suffering from chronic headaches. People were examined for several years, as a result it was possible to establish that with chronic headaches the risk of developing irreversible damage to the brain is 34% higher, and if headaches are accompanied by a feeling of anxiety, then the risk increases by 68%, while in healthy people the probability of developing such damage is 2 times lower. The specialists also found out that in people suffering from frequent headaches the brain volume gradually decreases, compared to the images at the beginning of the experiment.
Several months ago, scientists named a number of reasons that lead to damage to brain cells. According to experts, the condition of one of the main organs of the human body is directly affected by bad habits and a person's lifestyle.
During the research, scientists identified 5, in their opinion, the most severe:
- Sleep. Experts believe that a person should sleep at least 7 hours a day, otherwise irreversible damage to the neurons of the brain and deterioration of its performance begin.
- Nervous system. The more situations in a person's life that make him experience strong negative emotions, the more the brain is affected.
- Smoking. Toxins that enter the body with each cigarette smoked have a negative effect on the entire body, but the brain cells suffer especially.
- Alcohol. Frequent and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to dehydration of the body, and the human brain needs fluid. When there is a shortage, special mechanisms are activated in the body to replenish the lack of fluid, but if such reserves are insufficient, the neurons of the brain receive irreversible damage.
- Drugs. Experts have long proven that any drugs, especially heavy ones (cocaine, heroin, krokodil, narcotic smoking mixtures, ecstasy) lead to serious damage to brain cells, which do not recover even after a person stops using them.
Now chronic headaches can be added to this list.
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