Many migraine sufferers lie down in the dark when they get an attack - and while they're there the best thing to do is have sex, German neurologists have discovered.
A bit of careful copulation can do wonders for those in the throes of a migraine attack - and it even works when a person is alone - said scientists at Münster University, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Writing in the scientific journal Cephalagia (headache), they said symptoms were eased for 60 percent of those who had sex at the same time as a migraine. This was a better rate than for many other kinds of headache, their research showed.
Die Welt newspaper cited the report saying the scientists had surveyed 350 headache sufferers for their work.
For migraine sufferers – which make up 14 percent of German women and eight percent of German men – researchers found sex to be a particularly effective cure as 60 percent said it helped with the pain. Thirty three percent said that sex made their headache worse.
Cluster headache victims were, the paper said, less likely to benefit from sex as the researchers found only 37 percent felt better afterwards. In fact, around half said they felt much worse if they had sex while their head was hurting.
The German Society for Neurology says migraines are the most common neurological malady in the country. Non-sexual exercise, relaxation techniques and regular daily routine have all also been shown to help.
The Local/jcw