Headache stripe link

BEWARE that stripy sofa – patterns of parallel lines could be bringing misery to millions of headache sufferers, according to Dutch 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 Utrecht say a rise in a type of brain activity seen when such images are viewed indicates a possible cause of headaches.