What to write in a headache diary

Updated October 5, 2026 by Kamal Nasir

A useful headache or migraine diary records when each attack starts and how long it lasts, how bad the pain is, the other symptoms you get, any medication you take and whether it helped, and what came before it, such as poor sleep, a skipped meal or your period. The American Migraine Foundation (AMF) says keeping one should not feel like an overwhelming task, and that the longer you track, the more you get out of it, because patterns appear over time that help you and your doctor.

General information, not medical advice. How these guides are made.

Why keep a headache diary

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) says a headache journal can help a doctor diagnose the type of headache and find the right treatment. The AMF adds that a diary helps you and your doctor understand your triggers and see how different medications affect you, and that learning your early warning signs lets you start treatment sooner.

What to record for each attack

• The date, the day of the week and the time it started
• How long it lasted
• How intense the pain was, rated the same way each time, such as mild, moderate or severe
• Other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, or sensitivity to light, sound or smells
• Any aura or warning signs, such as zigzag lines, flashing lights or tingling
• Medication taken, including over-the-counter medicine, when you took it, and whether you needed a second dose
• Side effects, any change in your medication, and how well each dose worked

Halo: Migraine Tracker

Migraine tracker and headache diary

Get it on the App StoreAbout the app

What to note on ordinary days

A possible trigger only stands out when you can compare attack days with ordinary ones. A neurologist quoted by the AMF suggests a note every day on whether you had any head pain or other symptoms, the weather and your diet, and NINDS adds sleep, stress and changes in routine. Items worth a line each day:

• Sleep: when you went to bed and woke, since both too little sleep and more than usual are commonly reported triggers
• Meals, and any you skipped
• Caffeine and alcohol
• Stress, including the days after a stressful spell ends
• Your period, if you have one
• Weather changes, such as a storm coming in

Trigger or early warning sign?

The AMF points out that something that looks like a trigger can be an early symptom of the attack itself. Food cravings are common in the warning stage, called the prodrome, so craving chocolate can make chocolate look like a trigger when the attack had already begun. Writing down the time of each possible trigger next to the time the headache began helps tell the two apart.

To test a suspected food, a neurologist quoted by the AMF suggests leaving it out for a month and tracking that month in your diary: if your headaches improve, and get worse again when you bring it back, it is probably a trigger. The same test can show that something you suspected makes no difference.

Count your medication days

Painkiller days are worth counting separately. The AMF says that if you take headache medicine, even over-the-counter medicine, more than two days a week, you should discuss other options with your doctor, because taking it too often can make headaches worse. It explains that medication overuse headache is linked to taking aspirin, acetaminophen or anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen on more than 15 days a month, or triptans, opioids or butalbital combinations on more than 10 days a month, over at least three months. A diary makes those days easy to count and to discuss with your doctor.

When to see a doctor

NINDS says people with migraine attacks once a week or more, or with severe attacks that happen less often, are usually offered preventive treatment, so take your diary to a doctor. MedlinePlus says to contact your provider if your headache pattern or pain changes, treatments that once worked no longer help, or you have side effects from your medicine. An attack lasting longer than 3 days, which NINDS calls status migrainosus, is a rare but serious complication that can need hospital care, and the AMF says aura that comes on suddenly, lasts longer than 60 minutes or does not fully go away needs medical attention. MedlinePlus says to call 911 for a headache that starts suddenly or is the worst of your life, or one with speech, vision or movement problems or loss of balance. NINDS also says to call or see a doctor right away for a headache with weakness or loss of feeling in any part of the body or with convulsions, a headache after a head injury, or a first or worst headache with confusion, double vision or loss of consciousness.

Keeping the diary on your phone

Paper works, and the AMF says there is no wrong way to record your symptoms, from a written journal to a spreadsheet or an app. If you would rather log on your phone, Halo: Migraine Tracker has an Attack Mode, a dim, silent screen that logs onset, pain and medication in under ten seconds, and it asks two hours after a dose whether it helped. It can stamp each attack with the weather of the 24 hours before it and build a PDF for your neurologist with your attack calendar, medication response and notes. The weather engine and the doctor PDF are part of Halo Pro, and Halo is a tracking tool, not a medical device.

Questions people ask

Related

• Does Barometric Pressure Cause Migraines?
• Best migraine tracking apps for iPhone in 2026
• Halo: Migraine Tracker