Migraines and poor sleep – A viscous cycle!

Did you know people living with migraines are between 2 and 8 times more likely to experience sleep disorders?
And those who suffer from chronic migraine report having almost twice the rates of insomnia as those with less frequent headaches.
Studies have found that migraine sufferers that sleep fewer than six hours a night have more frequent and more severe headaches than those who sleep longer, suggesting that lack of sleep and migraines are part of a vicious, painful cycle. On the flip side, for some migraine sufferers, over sleeping, or getting too much sleep can also be a migraine trigger for some people.
 
So what’s the link between our sleep and migraines?
The strongest link between migraines and sleep patterns is thought to be Serotonin.
Serotonin is one of the most important brain chemicals for regulating the sleep/wake cycle as it is synthesised into melatonin which is the hormone that is directly related to healthy sleep.  A decrease in melatonin is associated with wakefulness (insomnia) as well as effecting the time spent in our deep sleep stages, known as REM sleep, meaning you may sleeping but your sleep quality is poor, leaving you feeling tired and fatigued the next day.
As mentioned earlier the relationship between sleep and migraines can be a vicious cycle as getting less sleep further lowers our serotonin levels thus further affecting our sleep. Additional to this, the same brain regions and chemical messengers that impact sleep, also impact your headaches and mood, so inadequate or poor quality sleep increases the odds for headache and/or mood changes to occur.
 
What can you do to improve your sleeping habits?
Having a structured and well maintained sleep routine each day is really important and helps your brain develop a healthy sleep/wake cycle.
 
Below are some tips to help improve your sleep routine:

• Try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day, as sleeping during the correct phase of your circadian cycle is important.
• Understand your sleep need, including both the timing of sleep (when feels right for you to go to bed), and the duration of sleep (most adults need about 8 hours a night).
• Try and spend some time outdoors or in natural light during the daytime, as this provides an important cue to your brain for fine tuning the timing of your body clock.
• Try and make your sleeping environment as restful as possible, including sufficient darkness and quiet, comfortable bedding and few devices around the bed, particularly those with lights.
• Exercise, preferably before dinner rather than before bed, can be helpful as can stopping smoking as nicotine has a stimulant effect and suppresses melatonin.
• It would be sensible to recommend that you don’t use your bed for activities that could be done elsewhere (such as watching TV, studying), and try to avoid staying in bed if you are wide-awake.
• Avoiding caffeine before bed is recommended, as is avoiding alcohol, as this actually reduces the overall quality of your sleep rather than improving your sleep as is commonly assumed.

 
If you feel your sleep is contributing to your migraine or headache patterns, or your headaches/migraines are affecting your sleep, come and speak with one of our experienced clinicians who can help you step out of this vicious cycle.