The immediate impact of migraine on night time sleep remains relatively unknown, however a recent study prospectively examined whether migraine headaches were associated with subsequent shorter sleep duration, higher fragmentation, and poorer quality in a cohort of 98 adults with episodic migraine.
Participants were 35 ± 12 years old, 88% women, with an average of five migraine headaches per month. Electronic diaries were completed twice-daily and actigraphs were continuously worn for 6 weeks. Over 4,406 days, 1,077 headache days were observed, representing 823 discrete headaches.
The study revealed that sleep periods immediately following migraine headaches were found not to be associated with shorter duration, higher disruption, or poorer sleep quality in patients with episodic migraine. The results suggest that clinical evaluation of sleep disturbance in patients with episodic migraine should be approached independently of their migraine status.
Reference:
Associations between migraine attacks and nightly sleep characteristics among adults with episodic migraine: a prospective cohort study
Angeliki Vgontzas, Wenyuan Li, Elizabeth Mostofsky, Michael Rueschman, Murray A Mittleman, Suzanne M Bertisch. Sleep, Volume 43, Issue 7, July 2020, zsaa001, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaa001
