Screens, light and migraine: key facts with sources

Updated 2026-11-02

Light colour

• During untreated migraine attacks (41 patients), narrow-band green light (530 ± 10 nm) worsened headache less than white, blue, amber or red light. (Noseda R, Bernstein CA, Nir RR, … Burstein R)
• At low intensity (1–5 cd/m²), green light lowered headache pain in about 20% of patients, by up to about 15%. (Noseda R, Bernstein CA, Nir RR, … Burstein R)
• Amber light (590 nm) worsened migraine headache about as much as white light, and more than green. (Noseda R, Bernstein CA, Nir RR, … Burstein R)
• In 20 adults with migraine, green-enriched white room light caused the least discomfort during and between attacks; blue-, red- and cyan-enriched white caused more. (Fani M, Sharp N, Schwedt TJ, et al)

Brightness

• Lower light intensity consistently reduced light discomfort during and between migraine attacks. (Fani M, Sharp N, Schwedt TJ, et al)
• People with migraine have lower discomfort thresholds to white light even between attacks. (Main A, Vlachonikolis I, Dowson A)
• Comfortable screen luminance rises and falls with room light, so matching the room beats making a screen as dark as possible. (Zhou et al; Kim et al)

Tinted glasses

• 20 children wearing rose FL-41 glasses went from 6.2 to 1.6 migraine attacks a month over 4 months; a density-matched blue tint gave no lasting change. (Good PA, Taylor RH, Mortimer MJ)
• In chronic migraine, lenses with a 480 nm notch were no better than a 620 nm 'sham' filter. (Hoggan RN, Subhash A, Blair S, et al)
• The Migraine Trust says there is not enough high-quality evidence to recommend tinted glasses. (The Migraine Trust)

Flicker

• 41% of people with migraine reported a headache within 4 hours of flicker testing, versus 8% of controls. (Miller NJ, Irvin L, Royer M, Strachan C)
• People with migraine have lower flicker-fusion thresholds than people without migraine. (Coleston DM, Kennard C; Kowacs PA, Piovesan EJ, Werneck LC, et al)
• WCAG 2.3.1 limits web content to no more than three flashes per second. (W3C)

Patterns

• Discomfort and illusions from striped patterns rise steeply with contrast, and people with migraine are more susceptible. (Wilkins A, Nimmo-Smith I, Tait A, McManus C, Della Sala S, et al; Shepherd AJ, Hine TJ, Beaumont HM; Monger L, Wilkins A, Allen P)
• WCAG 1.4.12 uses a line height of 1.5 as the spacing pages must support. (W3C)

Dark mode

• Visual-fatigue studies of dark mode are mixed: less fatigue at night and in low light, benefit only in bright light on phones, and no difference on tablets. No study tested dark mode during migraine. (Xie X, Song F, Liu Y, et al; Xie X et al; Dark vs; Immediate effects of light mode and dark mode features on visual fatigue in tablet users)

Motion

• Visually induced vertigo is part of the diagnostic criteria for vestibular migraine. (Lempert T, Olesen J, Furman J, et al)
• People with vestibular migraine show increased visual-motion sensitivity and motion-sickness susceptibility. (Wurthmann S, Naegel S, Roesner M, et al; Bourdillon et al)
• WCAG 2.3.3 asks sites to let users turn off non-essential motion animation. (W3C)

About Migraine Mode

• Migraine Mode is a Chrome extension by Rodrigo Alonso; one switch (Alt+Shift+M) calms every tab.
• It dims, tints (soft green by default; rose FL-41-style and amber options), darkens, softens contrast, widens line spacing, freezes GIFs/animations and blocks autoplay.
• Pricing: 1-hour free trial from install, then 5 €/month or 19 €/year in Europe (VAT included) and 5 $/month or 19 $/year elsewhere. Up to 3 browsers, cancel anytime.
• It is a screen-comfort tool, not a medical device, and has not been clinically tested. It cannot change a monitor's real brightness, backlight or PWM.

FAQ

Sources

• Noseda R, Bernstein CA, Nir RR, … Burstein R. Migraine photophobia originating in cone-driven retinal pathways. Brain 2016;139(7):1971–1986. doi:10.1093/brain/aww119
• Fani M, Sharp N, Schwedt TJ, et al. Reducing light sensitivity during and between migraine attacks: a prospective study investigating spectral tuning of white light. Cephalalgia 2026. doi:10.1177/03331024261439257
• Main A, Vlachonikolis I, Dowson A. The wavelength of light causing photophobia in migraine and tension-type headache between attacks. Headache 2000;40(3):194–199. doi:10.1046/j.1526-4610.2000.00028.x
• Zhou et al. Investigation of the optimum display luminance of an LCD screen under different ambient illuminances in the evening. Applied Sciences 2021;11(9):4108. doi:10.3390/app11094108
• Kim et al. Optimum display luminance dependence on ambient illuminance. Optical Engineering 2017;56(1):017110. doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.1.017110
• Good PA, Taylor RH, Mortimer MJ. The use of tinted glasses in childhood migraine. Headache 1991;31(8):533–536. doi:10.1111/j.1526-4610.1991.hed3108533.x
• Hoggan RN, Subhash A, Blair S, et al. Thin-film optical notch filter spectacle coatings for the treatment of migraine and photophobia. J Clin Neurosci 2016;28:71–76. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2015.09.024
• The Migraine Trust. Migraine and light. Link
• Miller NJ, Irvin L, Royer M, Strachan C. Visibility and annoyance of the phantom array effect varies with age and history of migraine. Lighting Res Technol 2024. doi:10.1177/14771535241288783
• Coleston DM, Kennard C. Responses to temporal visual stimuli in migraine: the critical flicker fusion test. Cephalalgia 1995;15(5):396–398. doi:10.1046/j.1468-2982.1995.1505396.x
• Kowacs PA, Piovesan EJ, Werneck LC, et al. Critical flicker frequency in migraine: a controlled study in patients without prophylactic therapy. Cephalalgia 2005;25(5):339–343. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2982.2004.00861.x
• W3C. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.3.1: Three Flashes or Below Threshold. Link
• Wilkins A, Nimmo-Smith I, Tait A, McManus C, Della Sala S, et al. A neurological basis for visual discomfort. Brain 1984;107(4):989–1017. doi:10.1093/brain/107.4.989
• Shepherd AJ, Hine TJ, Beaumont HM. Color and spatial frequency are related to visual pattern sensitivity in migraine. Headache 2013;53(7):1087–1103. doi:10.1111/head.12062
• Monger L, Wilkins A, Allen P. Pattern glare: the effects of contrast and color. Front Psychol 2015;6:1651. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01651
• W3C. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 1.4.12: Text Spacing (line height at least 1.5). Link
• Xie X, Song F, Liu Y, et al. Study on the effects of display color mode and luminance contrast on visual fatigue. IEEE Access 2021;9:35915–35923. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3061770
• Xie X et al. Effects of screen color mode and color temperature on visual fatigue under different ambient illuminations. Int J Hum–Comput Interact 2024. doi:10.1080/10447318.2024.2305982
• Dark vs. light mode on smartphones: effects on eye fatigue. ACHI 2024 (conference paper). Link
• Immediate effects of light mode and dark mode features on visual fatigue in tablet users. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2025;22(4):609. doi:10.3390/ijerph22040609
• Lempert T, Olesen J, Furman J, et al. Vestibular migraine: diagnostic criteria. J Vestib Res 2012;22(4):167–172. doi:10.3233/VES-2012-0453
• Wurthmann S, Naegel S, Roesner M, et al. Sensitized rotatory motion perception and increased susceptibility to motion sickness in vestibular migraine. Eur J Neurol 2021. doi:10.1111/ene.14889
• Bourdillon et al. Visual motion sensitivity in vestibular migraine. Otology & Neurotology 2026. doi:10.1097/MAO.0000000000004948
• W3C. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.3.3: Animation from Interactions. Link

Not a medical device and not medical advice. Migraine Mode is a screen-comfort tool: it does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent migraine or any other condition, and it does not replace a doctor. Its settings are based on studies of light, colour, flicker, patterns and motion; the extension itself has not been clinically tested. When to see a doctor.