Migraine Affects Quality of Sleep in Adults and Children

According to a meta-analysis published in Neurology, Adults and children with migraines may get less quality sleep and less rapid eye movement (REM) sleep time. For the meta-analysis, 32 studies were included, involving 10,243 people. When polysomnographic sleep studies were reviewed, it was found that adults and children with migraines had less REM sleep as a percentage of their total sleep time than their healthy counterparts without migraine. Children with migraines had less total sleep time, more wake time, and shorter time for sleep onset than children without migraines. It is a possibility that children with migraines may fall asleep faster due to being sleep deprived.

“Do migraines cause poor sleep quality or does poor sleep quality cause migraines?” said asked meta-analysis author Jan Hoffmann, MD, PhD, of King’s College London in the United Kingdom and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “We wanted to analyze recent research to get a clearer picture of how migraines affect people’s sleep patterns and the severity of their headaches. That way, clinicians can better support people with migraines and deliver more effective sleep treatments.”

In all of the studies analyzed, participants had completed a questionnaire to rate their own sleep quality. The questionnaire inquired about sleep habits, such as how long it takes to fall asleep, total sleep time, and the use of sleep aids, with higher scores indicating worse sleep quality. Polysomnography (sleep studies) were carried out in many, but not all of the studies. Adults with migraine overall had higher average scores on the questionnaire than people without migraines. The difference was even greater in people with chronic migraines