Do migraines keep people from getting adequate sleep, or does poor sleep trigger your migraine?
And why is it that sleeping off a migraine works for some people, but not for others?
Some people report fatigue during the prodrome phase, which occurs before the headache phase even starts.
So, simply sleeping off migraines may not work for everyone.
Heres what we know about sleep as amigraine trigger.
In a 2016 study published inPLoS One, 55.1 percent of respondents said sleep deprivation was a migraine trigger.
Aruna Rao, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins.
REM sleepis the fourth stage of sleep, and it typically starts 90 minutes after you doze off.
Children in the study who had migraine got less sleep overall.
Theres definitely a shared path of physiology [between migraine and] some sleep disorders, Dr. Mays says.
Your brain stem communicates with the hypothalamus to control transitions between sleeping and waking up.
Its Amazing How Its All Connected.
Although the relationship isnt totally understood, its clear that many migraine patients may benefit from managing their sleep.
Typically, migraine attacks that happen between 4:00 am and 9:00 am are associated with REM sleep.
We also see people with migraines report increased nightmares.
So, how should you manage migraine and sleep issues?
Aruna Rao, MD, is an assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins.
Unfortunately, its not possible to isolate treatment to focus on just migraine headaches or sleep.
If you dont fix one problem, I cant fix the other problem, Dr. Mays says.
So its best to address your sleep issues and migraine attacks simultaneously.
For instance, it might be time to brush up on your sleep hygiene.
She suggests yoga, meditation, or reading a (paper) book.
Of course, many sleep disorders cant be managed by a good sleep routine alone.
Other sleep disorders may similarly need medical intervention, as well as managing chronic migraine.
Its important to look at the whole person, Dr. Mays says.
medically reviewed byAngela Holliday-Bell, MD
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