4 min read
Migraine vs. Tension Headache: Key Differences
Migraine vs tension headache: Learn the duration, symptoms, and triggers. Migraines last 4-72 hours; tension headaches are shorter. Discover when to see a doctor.
Living with Migraine
See your patterns. Support your care.
Sam shows your sleep, stress, HRV, and activity trends against your personal baseline, so you can spot what matters and bring that context to your neurologist or doctor. Sam doesn't detect or predict migraine attacks - no wearable can.
Works with Apple Watch, Oura, Whoop & GarminGDPR-compliant, built in Europe
Your data
The metrics that often come up in everyday life with Migraine.
Your wearable already captures them. Sam reads them from Apple Health and shows you how they shift against your personal baseline.
Sleep Duration
Stress Level
HRV
Daily Steps
Alcohol Intake
Workout Recovery Time
Sleep Duration
Stress Level
HRV
Daily Steps
Alcohol Intake
Workout Recovery Time
Sleep Duration
Stress Level
HRV
Daily Steps
Alcohol Intake
Workout Recovery Time
Sleep Duration
Stress Level
HRV
Daily Steps
Alcohol Intake
Workout Recovery Time
How Sam accompanies you day to day with Migraine
Sam reads the data your wearable already writes to Apple Health and compares it to your personal baseline - understandable, not a wall of numbers.
1
Identify your personal triggers
Migraine triggers are different for everyone. Sam's attack diary sits next to your sleep, stress, and activity trends, so you can compare them yourself and note what stands out. Bring what you notice to your neurologist.
2
Prepare stronger conversations with your care team
Neurologists ask about sleep and stress because these matter for migraine treatment. Bringing three months of consistent Apple Health data to your appointment gives your doctor concrete context for planning your care, rather than relying on memory.
3
Support a steady sleep routine
A regular sleep schedule is one of the most evidence-backed non-drug strategies for migraine. Sam makes it easy to see when you've drifted from your baseline sleep time or consistency, so you can return to the rhythm that works for you.
Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any illness and does not replace medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical decisions.
Inside the Medical Program
How the Migraine Medical Program works.
A structured place to log what's happening, get medication reminders where relevant, and check in monthly - all building toward a report for your next appointment.
Medication, logged with every attack
Note the acute medication you took and its drug class as part of each attack entry, building a clear record over time. There are no medication reminders or dosing prompts - those decisions stay with you and your doctor.
Your attack diary, built in
For each attack, record onset time, intensity (mild, moderate, or severe), how long it lasted, and symptoms like nausea, light or sound sensitivity, and whether the pain was one-sided. Same-day entries also pull in your sleep, HRV, and barometric pressure automatically, so there's less to type by hand.
MIDAS, once a month
Once a month, you'll get a short check-in using the MIDAS questionnaire - the same one neurologists use to ask about the past three months. It's not a diagnosis, just one more data point to bring to your appointment.
Barometric pressure, captured automatically
Same-day attack entries automatically include barometric pressure and how much it changed over the past 24 hours, alongside your sleep and HRV. Sam doesn't flag or calculate correlations for you - the numbers just sit next to your entry so you can look for a pattern yourself.
Every Medical Program builds toward your monthly doctor-report PDF, alongside your measured context (sleep, activity, and more where relevant).
Understand, don't guess.
Sam translates your numbers into clear answers and a report you can take with you.
Ask Sam about your data
Instead of interpreting charts, you ask questions - Sam answers from your own numbers. For example:
How has my sleep changed this month?
Your sleep this month averaged 6 hours 47 minutes, about 19 minutes below your three-month baseline. You had six nights under 6 hours.
Do you tend to have more migraines after shorter sleep?
A report for your next doctor's appointment
The monthly PDF report sums up your weeks objectively - for appointments, applications, or simply your own record.
Monthly Report - June
Your Health Overview
Sleep
07:10Average
23:50Bedtime
71Score
Stress level
38Avg (score)
-6vs. baseline
22Days logged
Created by Sam HealthPDF
Beispielwerte. Dein Bericht basiert auf deinen eigenen Daten - automatisch, ohne Tagebuch.
Articles about Migraine
Further reading: what wearable data can show about everyday life with Migraine - and where its limits are.
5 min read
Apple Watch Migraine Tracker: Digital Diary Setup
Set up Apple Health to track migraine frequency, duration, and potential triggers. Learn how digital tracking supports conversations with your doctor and reveals your personal patterns.
4 min read
Migraine Triggers: Sleep, Stress, and Patterns
Learn how sleep disruption, stress, and daily patterns relate to migraine. A guide to tracking your own triggers and patterns with your Apple Watch.
5 min read
Sleep and heart rate: understanding migraine patterns
Explore how sleep consistency and heart-rate patterns in Apple Health data may connect to your migraine—and how to use that information with your doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Sam predict when I'll have a migraine?+
No. No wearable can reliably predict a migraine attack before it starts. Sam shows trends in sleep, stress, and activity that you might correlate with your own experience, but these are observations over weeks and months, not predictions of individual attacks.
What's the connection between sleep and migraine?+
Sleep loss and irregular sleep schedules are among the most common migraine triggers. Neurologists recommend maintaining a consistent sleep-wake rhythm as a first-line non-drug measure. Sam helps you track whether your sleep has remained stable.
Should I stop keeping a migraine diary if I'm using Sam?+
No. Sam has its own attack diary that covers onset time, intensity, duration, symptoms, and aura, following the same structure your neurologist's headache diary already uses. Same-day entries also attach your sleep, HRV, and barometric pressure automatically. Use it as your record between appointments.
Can my Apple Watch detect a migraine attack?+
No. While an Apple Watch can detect some physiological changes (like irregular heart rate), it cannot reliably identify a migraine attack. Only you, the person experiencing it, can report that you're having a migraine.
What should I do if I notice my migraines follow a pattern in the data?+
Write down what you observe and share it with your neurologist at your next appointment. For example, 'I notice more migraines after high-stress weeks' is valuable clinical information. Your doctor can help you explore whether that pattern is meaningful for your care.
Can better sleep actually reduce my migraines?+
Yes. Consistent sleep routines can significantly reduce migraine frequency for many people, though results vary individually. Every person with migraine is different. Talk to your neurologist about which lifestyle changes make sense for you. They'll guide what to try and how to measure whether it helps.
Understand what your body is telling you.
Download Sam for free, connect Apple Health, and see what your data says about everyday life with Migraine - compared to your own baseline.
Free for iPhoneGDPR-compliant, built in Europe
Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. Sam does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any illness and does not replace medical advice. For health questions or concerns, always consult a qualified medical professional.