爲什麼下雨的時候,很多人會頭痛?大綱

Parts of the UK waved goodbye to our long heatwave yesterday as heavy rain began to sweep across the country. Although most people welcomed a break from the searing heat, there were some suffering from severe headaches - all thanks to the change in weather. If you don't believe this is a thing, you only have to look at people complaining about the issue on social media whenever a thunderstorm is brewing.

昨晚，全國忽降暴雨，英國部分地區正式揮別高溫天氣。儘管大多數人終於可以從高溫天氣中緩口氣，但有些人卻頭痛欲裂--多虧這一天氣變化。如果你不信，只消問問那些雷雨天就會在社交媒體上抱怨頭痛的人就行了。

And if you're still not convinced, read on for the Scientific explanation below. There's a reason people experience headaches in this type of weather - and it's not actually to do with the rain itself. It's all about the pressure in the atmosphere, and if the pressure is low then you might feel yourself having to reach for the painkillers.

如果你還是不信，請繼續讀下去，看看科學解釋。這種天氣下人們頭痛是有原因的--實際上與下雨本身無關。頭痛是大氣壓力所致，如果氣壓很低，你可能會忍不住想吃止痛藥。

A group of scientists studied more than 7,000 patients diagnosed with headaches in one medical centre in Boston between the years 2000 and 2007, according to Scientific American. At the same time, they also scoured National Weather Service data to monitor fluctuations in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure within 72 hours of each patient's visit.

據《科學美國人》（Scientific American）表示，一組科學家研究了7000多位頭痛患者，他們於2000年至2007年間在波士頓的一家醫療中心被診斷出患有頭痛。同時，他們還搜索了國家氣象局的數據，以監測每位病人就診後72小時內的氣溫、溼度和氣壓的波動。

As well as finding that an increase in temperature increased chances of getting a headache, they also discovered that headache risk increased by an average of 6% with every 5 millimetre drop in barometric pressure that occurred. What does that mean for you? Well, when they have those wavy lines on the weather map and you see the letter 'L' for low pressure, you might be about to experience a headache or migraine.

除了發現氣溫升高會增加人們頭痛的機率之外，他們還發現氣壓每降低5毫米汞柱，人們頭痛的風險就會平均增加6%。於你而言，這意味着什麼？好吧，當氣象圖上出現波浪線的時候，L代表着低氣壓，那你就有可能頭痛或偏頭痛。

Low barometric pressure can cause headaches by creating a difference in pressure between your sinuses - which are filled with air - and the surrounding atmosphere. It's a little bit like being on a plane which suddenly increases or decreases its altitude, so if you suffer with ear or head pain while flying then you might be more likely to be affected.

低氣壓時，你的鼻竇--充滿空氣--與周圍大氣之間存在差異，因此會導致頭痛。有點像坐飛機海拔驟增或驟減的情況，所以如果飛行時你的耳朵疼或頭痛，那氣壓低就可能導致頭痛。

Why is it connected to rainy weather? Well, low pressure is often associated with thunderstorms.

但這與陰雨天有什麼關係？因爲低壓常與雷暴雨有關啊！