Migraines and Getting Quality Sleep

The Question

One of the key features of Gamer Advantage glasses has always been reducing headaches/migraines. In fact, in a clinical study, 65.1% of respondents reported a significant reduction in headaches/migraines after wearing our lenses. Knowing this and the importance of sleep, we turn to ScienceDaily and American Academy of Neurology to help us answer the question “How do migraines affect the sleep cycle?” with an article of the same name.

The Study

Looking to help answer this question is 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. Speaking to the intentions of the study, she stated “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 terms of methodology, according to ScienceDaily, “For the meta-analysis, researchers included 32 studies, involving 10,243 people. Participants completed a questionnaire to rate their own sleep quality. It asked about sleep habits, including how long it takes to fall asleep, total sleep time and the use of sleep aids. Higher scores indicate worse sleep quality.” In addition, ScienceDaily provided the detail that “For many of the studies, people took part in an overnight sleep lab used to diagnose sleep disorders. This sleep study records brain waves, the oxygen level in the blood, heart rate and eye movement.”

That said, this appears to be a thorough meta-analysis that considers multiple variables and has a healthy sample size.

Results

According to ScienceDaily, adults with migraines had higher average scores (indicating poorer sleep) on the questionnaire compared those without migraines. The article notes that the difference was moderate. Looking at the sleep cycle stages, it also states that adults and children had less REM sleep percentages of their total sleep compared to those without migraines. Looking further at the results pertaining to children, it states “researchers found they had less total sleep time, more wake time, and shorter time for sleep onset than children without migraines.” The final sentences of the article mention that “the meta-analysis does not prove a causal relationship between sleep and migraines”, medications affecting sleep cycles were not included, and that “the meta-analysis was supported by the Medical Research Council and the Migraine Trust in the U.K.”

Concluding Thoughts

While the meta-analysis does not prove a causal relationship between sleep and migraines, it has enough detail to urge pause to the idea that migraines possibly complicate the goal of getting quality sleep. Going back to another Gamer Advantage blog post, knowing how important REM sleep is, (particularly for processing new information and long term-memory retention), it’s interesting to learn that for both children and adults, those who have migraines had lower REM sleep percentages related to their total sleep. As we continue to advocate for Gamer Advantage glasses, we can see the real effects reducing migraines potentially has.

Source:

American Academy of Neurology. (2021, September 22). How do migraines affect the sleep cycle? Study finds differences between perceived and actual sleep quality in people with migraine. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 22, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210922160654.htm>.

Meta-analysis Journal Source:

Emily Charlotte Stanyer, Hannah Creeney, Alexander David Nesbitt, Philip Robert Robert Holland, Jan Hoffmann. Subjective Sleep Quality and Sleep Architecture in Patients With Migraine: A Meta-analysis. Neurology, 2021; 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012701 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012701

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