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Stripes can cause headaches, according to scientists

Scientists say their findings could be taken into account by architects and designers to help those sensitive to migraines
Scientists say their findings could be taken into account by architects and designers to help those sensitive to migraines Scientists say their findings could be taken into account by architects and designers to help those sensitive to migraines

FROM stripey sofas to brutalist buildings, patterns of parallel lines found everywhere could be bringing misery to millions of headache sufferers, according to scientists.

While the link between flashing lights and certain forms of epilepsy is well known, some static patterns made up of bars and lines are now suspected of causing negative effects even in the brains of healthy people.

Researchers at the University Medical Centre (UMC) Utrecht in the Netherlands say that a rise in a type of brain activity seen when such images are viewed indicates a possible cause of headaches.

Around one in five women and one in 15 men suffer from migraines in the UK.

The team behind the research said their findings could be taken into account by architects and designers in order to help those sensitive to migraines.

"Our findings imply that in designing buildings, it may be important to avoid the types of visual patterns that can activate this circuit and cause discomfort, migraines, or seizures," said Dora Hermes of the UMC

"Even perfectly healthy people may feel modest discomfort from the images that are most likely to trigger seizures in photosensitive epilepsy."