New research revealed that patients who manage to reduce their stress levels may end up boosting their risk for a migraine bout.

The study, led by Dr. Richard Lipton, director of the Montefiore Headache Center and vice chair of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City, was published March 26 in the journal Neurology, reports Newsmax Health.

Though the authors noted that stress has long been seen as a trigger of headaches, the new study found that the stress decline itself may boost migraine risk.

During the first six-hour period in which high stress starts to dissipate, the risk for experiencing a migraine increases fivefold, the researchers found.

Lipton and his colleagues theorize that something about the rise and fall in levels of the stress hormone cortisol may have something to do with the elevated risk as stress is reduced.

Lipton's investigation tracked 17 migraine patients who over a three-month period kept diaries that noted their stress levels and stress-reduction experiences, as well as sleep patterns, dietary habits and emotional state of mind.

Although the study found an association between a drop in stress levels and migraine attacks, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.