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Home > Headache Management: Sleep Strategies >  Headache Management: Sleep Strategies: Headaches and sleep
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Headache Management: Sleep Strategies

Headaches and sleep

The relationship between headaches and sleep is strong but complicated, and researchers are still trying to understand it better. Researchers have proposed that:

  • sleep problems trigger headaches
  • sleep and migraine are symptoms of another health issue
  • sleep and migraine use the same pathways and brain chemicals, like adenosine, oxerins, and melatonin

What is known is that people with headaches are 2 to 8 times more likely to have sleep disorders than people without headaches, and people with insomnia are more likely to have migraines than people without insomnia.

Research on sleep and headaches shows a lot of connections:

Impact of sleep on headachesImpact of headaches on sleep Impact of sleep on headaches
  • Going to bed and getting up at consistent times can be an important part of headache management.
  • Sleep may help stop a headache attack.
  • Sleep hygiene strategies have decreased the frequency and intensity of migraines.
  • Too little or too much sleep can trigger headaches, especially in migraine and tension-type headache.
  • A variety of factors can make migraines more frequent over time. One of these is prolonged poor sleep.
  • Headache-free people with insomnia are more likely to develop migraine than headache-free people without insomnia.
  • People with insomnia who develop migraines often report frequent and intense attacks and high headache disability.
  • One of the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (a sleep condition) is morning headache.
  • Sleep deprivation may worsen problems that are already happening during migraines like concentration, memory, and word-finding difficulties.
Impact of headaches on sleep
  • People with migraine report poorer sleep than people without migraine.
  • People with chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month) report worse sleep problems than those with episodic migraine (0 to 14 headache days per month).
  • Head pain can wake some people at night or in the morning.
  • Some research has shown that people with migraines have less melatonin than people without migraines. Melatonin is a hormone that plays an important role in sleep.
  • Migraine and cluster headaches often happen during a part of the sleep cycle called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
  • Some medicines for migraine can cause vivid, disturbing dreams. These can disrupt sleep.
  • Both migraine and sleep can worsen in perimenopause (the time leading up to menopause).
  • People with migraine have an increased risk of developing insomnia.
  • People with migraine can sometimes have depression or anxiety. Insomnia is common in depression and may also occur in generalized anxiety disorder.
  • Some people with migraine report discomfort when their head rests on a pillow or when they wear an eye mask. This is called allodynia and can further disrupt sleep.​​​​
Current as of: November 25, 2024
Author: Calgary Headache Assessment and Management Program, Alberta Health Services

This material is not a substitute for the advice of a qualified health professional. This material is intended for general information only and is provided on an "as is", "where is" basis. Although reasonable efforts were made to confirm the accuracy of the information, Alberta Health Services does not make any representation or warranty, express, implied or statutory, as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, applicability or fitness for a particular purpose of such information. Alberta Health Services expressly disclaims all liability for the use of these materials, and for any claims, actions, demands or suits arising from such use.

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