Incandescent Screen
  1. Home
  2. Guides
  3. Migraines & headaches

Guide · Migraines & headaches

Migraines, headaches and screens

Light makes migraine worse for most people who have it, and flicker is a well-known headache trigger. A screen is a light you look straight into for hours, so the kind of light it gives off matters.

Updated October 8, 2026 · 2 min read

Key points

Why does light make migraines worse?

Light sensitivity, or photophobia, is one of the defining symptoms of migraine: up to 80% of people with migraine have it during an attack.1 In vestibular migraine, dizziness can be the main symptom; see screens, dizziness and vestibular migraine.

Part of the reason is wiring. Light-sensing cells in the retina send signals to neurons in the thalamus that also carry headache pain from the trigeminal nerve system. Even blind people with migraine report that light makes their headache worse, as long as these light-sensing cells still work.2 In animal studies, bright light switches on pain-signaling neurons in the trigeminal part of the brainstem.5

Is flicker a migraine trigger?

Many people with migraine name flickering light as a trigger, and lab studies back them up. When researchers showed flickering patterns repeatedly, people without migraine gradually became less sensitive to them. People with migraine became more sensitive, even when tested between headaches.3

Most screens flicker. Many dim their LED backlight with PWM, switching it fully on and off hundreds of times a second, and the lower the brightness, the longer the dark gaps. You can’t see it, but your retina responds to flicker well above the rate you can perceive.6 Read more about PWM sensitivity.

Can steadier light mean fewer headaches?

In a double-blind trial in offices, replacing flickering fluorescent lights with high-frequency lighting that was nearly steady cut workers’ headaches and eye strain by more than half. The flicker was too fast to see in either case.4

Tension headaches and neck strain

Not every screen headache is a migraine. Squinting and leaning toward a harsh screen loads the muscles of your forehead, jaw and neck. In one lab study, glare alone tipped people’s heads forward and increased blood flow in their shoulder muscles, a sign the muscles were working harder.7 See neck, jaw and shoulder tension.

What to look for in a screen if you get migraines

The Firelight isn’t a treatment for migraine or any headache disorder. Work with your doctor on your triggers and treatment.

Sources

  1. Digre KB, Brennan KC. Shedding light on photophobia. Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology. 2012;32(1):68–81. doi:10.1097/WNO.0b013e3182474548
  2. Noseda R, Kainz V, Jakubowski M, et al.. A neural mechanism for exacerbation of headache by light. Nature Neuroscience. 2010;13(2):239–245. doi:10.1038/nn.2475
  3. Karanovic O, Thabet M, Wilson HR, Wilkinson F. Detection and discrimination of flicker contrast in migraine. Cephalalgia. 2011;31(6):723–736. doi:10.1177/0333102411398401
  4. Wilkins AJ, Nimmo-Smith I, Slater AI, Bedocs L. Fluorescent lighting, headaches and eyestrain. Lighting Research & Technology. 1989;21(1):11–18. doi:10.1177/096032718902100102
  5. Okamoto K, Tashiro A, Chang Z, Bereiter DA. Bright light activates a trigeminal nociceptive pathway. Pain. 2010;149(2):235–242. doi:10.1016/j.pain.2010.02.004
  6. Berman SM, Greenhouse DS, Bailey IL, Clear RD, Raasch TW. Human electroretinogram responses to video displays, fluorescent lighting, and other high frequency sources. Optometry and Vision Science. 1991;68(8):645–662. doi:10.1097/00006324-199108000-00012
  7. Mork R, Falkenberg HK, Fostervold KI, Thorud HMS. Visual and psychological stress during computer work in healthy, young females: physiological responses. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2018;91(7):811–830. doi:10.1007/s00420-018-1324-5