6 Ways Working From Home Might Be Triggering Migraines — And How to Tweak Your Set-Up

Whether you’ve always worked from home or the lifestyle is new to you due to COVID-19, you’re probably well aware by now that the benefits of WFH also come with their downsides. While not needing to commute every day or dress in your finest might be a perk, it has pitfalls of many varieties.

Migraines are the #1 work-related annoying that WFH folks are experiencing nowadays. Especially if you live with a partner, and even more-so if they also work from home. While we are allowed more control in our environments, eye fatigue and strain from staring at a laptop all day isn’t ideal. Here are all the ways that working from home is triggering migraines.

1. Too much screen-time and Zoom fatigue

Conferences and meetings were never fun, but they helped give you a break from all that screen time. If you’re stuck doing meetings on Zoom now, you’re pretty much immersing your eyes in blue light all day long. Luckily, there are orange light filters that can help reduce that screen-time, and hence reduce migraines. You can also add a screen time tracker onto your devices.

2. Lack of routine

At the office we have a routine, and it shouldn’t be any different at home. Routines that are regular are a blessing for migraine-prone folks. After all, change can be a major migraine initiator. If you’re dealing with lack of stability, consider a routine with staples like making tea, getting dressed in the morning, and setting arranged coffee breaks in order to avoid downing too many cups daily.

3. Working from the couch

We can’t all afford to have an office in our homes, but if you don’t have a proper chair and table (ideally a desk) but working from a couch can promote migraines, causing distractions and back pains. That back pain and migraines can come hand in hand, so see if you can purchase your own fancy ergonomic seat, or borrow one from the office until you save up. This can also cause poor positioning or posture, which can lead to tension and hence migraines.