Migraines – classified as headaches that are severe, pulsing, worsened by physical exertion, and can last a couple days, usually with some level of nausea as a side effect – can knock you straight onto your rear with little warning, but the real insult to injury is that migraines tend to make you sensitive to light – and light is everywhere you look. Sunglasses can help block out those obnoxious light rays, but you'll need to make sure that your sunglasses have a few special attributes to make them fully useful for a migraine. So if you're wondering what the migraine necessities are for sunglasses, then here's what you need to check for.

Check the Sides

The first thing you'll want is sunglasses that don't make your headache any worse – so make sure to double- and triple-check the sides of your sunglasses so they're not too tight. Most sunglasses won't feel tight at first, but can start to feel tight over the next ten minutes or so. Try out pairs of sunglasses for 10 or so minutes at a time, so that you can tell how they wear for more than just the first minute or two.

Note the Shape

Most sunglasses stand out from the face at least a little, but lots of them stand out a good inch or so, especially as it moves towards the sides of the sunglasses. To be truly effective during a migraine, you'll want to eliminate (as best you can) that gap between where the lens ends and where your peripheral vision does. Look for lenses that wrap around (essentially, look for curved lenses) for the best protection from the light; eliminating that strip where light can get it may seem small, but you won't get the strobe effect where light flashes in and out of that spot rapidly as you walk or drive.

Choose the Lens

Obviously, you're looking for UV ray protection here as well, but really the most important thing about your sunglasses' lenses is that they're dark enough. Lots of fashion sunglasses come with purple, pink, or blue lenses so that your eyes can still be seen clearly through them – and you don't want any of that. Choosing the darkest lenses you can find (so long as the glasses fulfill the other two requirements of the sides not being tight and wrapping around a bit) will help block out that light and leave you feeling much less visually attacked than before.

If you also want some style with your sunglasses, check out places like Woodroze, which offer real wood sunglasses.