Sleep disorders are common in patients with chronic migraine (CM), according to a study published Oct. 6 in Nature and Science of Sleep.
Hikmet Saçmacı, from Yozgat Bozok University in Turkey, and colleagues conducted a comprehensive literature review of all articles on CM and sleep quality to analyze commonly reported sleep disturbances in CM and determine the effect of CM on sleep quality.
Based on 36 clinical studies on sleep quality and its association with migraine, the researchers found that poor sleep and migraine chronicity were intertwined with other accompanying comorbidities and dysregulation of circadian rhythm. The maladaptive pain process worsened sleep, and poor sleep quality also negatively affected migraine pain. Sleep disturbance, associated with worsening migraine attacks, caused deterioration in quality of life, loss of workforce, and economic burden.
“If this interaction chain is not broken in itself, the pathophysiology can continue in two directions,” the authors write.