Millions of people happily hit the snooze button and enjoy an extra hour of sleep when daylight savings time ends. People with migraine, however, may dread turning the clock back. That’s because migraine brains do best on a consistent schedule, and sudden changes can trigger an attack.
If you have migraine and have trouble sleeping, you’re not alone. A study found that people with migraine spend much less time in REM sleep, which is the most restful part. People with chronic migraine are more likely to have a sleep disorder. People living with consistent migraine often wonder how to sleep.
How to sleep with migraine
Even if you’re living with migraine, you don’t have to live with sleep problems and fatigue. The end of daylight savings is a good time to make a resolution. Try some new ways to get a better night’s rest. Here are some of the best ways to sleep with migraine:
1. Develop a better sleep schedule for migraine
- Are sleep problems a migraine trigger for me?
- Why do migraine attacks wake me up?
- How can I get better sleep?
If you have migraine and you have trouble sleeping through the night, you’re not alone. Insomnia — difficulty falling or staying asleep — is the most common sleep disorder among people with migraine.
However, researchers still haven’t pinned down the connection between migraine and sleep. It seems that migraine may cause disruptions in sleep, but sleep disruption may also trigger migraine. Clear as mud, right? The good news is that getting better sleep can potentially improve your symptoms.
2. Find out if sleep problems are a trigger for you
Even if scientists can’t agree on the underlying reasons sleep is linked to migraine, it can be really helpful to figure out how your own sleep patterns affect migraine. How? Start by gathering data.
- You might want to get a sleep tracker, such as the Fitbit, the Oura ring, or a pad that slips under your mattress. These trackers generally monitor several different aspects of sleep, including:
- How long you sleep each night
- The quality of your sleep — do you wake frequently? Toss and turn?
- The phases of your sleep, from light to deep to REM
- Environmental factors affecting sleep, such as the ambient temperature
- Lifestyle factors affecting sleep, such as exercise and caffeine
Once you have better information about how much and how well you’re actually sleeping, pair that with data about your migraine attacks. Download the free CeCe Migraine Management app, which makes it easy to log attacks and identify trends and triggers.
Armed with data about your sleep and your migraine attacks, you’ll see patterns emerge. Maybe you’re more susceptible to attacks when you stay up late for a few nights in a row. Maybe oversleeping on the weekend is to blame.
You also can consider doing a sleep study. This is when you actually spend the night in a sleep center while medical staff monitor your brain waves and analyze your sleep cycles. They may identify a serious underlying problem, such as sleep apnea (when you stop breathing at intervals throughout the night).
3. Start — and stick to — a relaxing nighttime routine
Maybe you crash into bed every night when you’re exhausted. Maybe you stay up too late scrolling on your phone or playing games. Maybe you rush around the house trying to get a few last tasks done before the chaos of the morning. Whatever your typical routine (or lack thereof), it could be why you can’t sleep with migraine.
If you’re wondering how to fall asleep with migraine, try implementing a new night-time routine. Experts recommend:
- Playing calming music
- Reading or working on a word or number puzzle
- Dimming the lights
- Practicing a meditation or mindfulness exercise
- Writing down your worries
Any of these relaxing activities will allow your brain to wind down from the day and prepare your body for sleep. Another important part of your evening routine: a 20-minute CEFALY PREVENT treatment. Many users prefer to do their PREVENT treatment just before bed because the gentle neurostimulation often has a mild sedative effect, making you feel sleepy, drowsy, or relaxed.
4. Examine your sleep environment
Flat pillows. A too-warm comforter. An old, sagging mattress. Sound familiar? Upgrading your bedroom can help upgrade your sleep as well. Even if you’re on a budget, you can make small improvements, such as a mattress topper, a new pillow or crisp sheets. A fan for air circulation and white noise can also help. Some migraineurs say a weighted blanket helps them sleep.
Also, consider temperature and light. Set the thermostat to between 65 and 69 degrees Fahrenheit (adjust based on your own preferences). Invest in light-blocking shades and low-watt bulbs or a dimmer. These changes may also help you feel better during a migraine attack, when all you want is cool darkness.
5. Be vigilant about cutting off caffeine
People with migraine often have a love-hate relationship with caffeine. Some people find that caffeine alleviates their migraine pain. For others, it’s a trigger. If you enjoy the occasional cup of joe, try to do so at least six hours before bedtime. Any closer, and it could disrupt your sleep and possibly trigger migraine.
Another good practice with caffeine is to track your consumption levels and compare them to your migraine. Try tracking how much caffeine you drink and when you usually drink it. Then, compare those amounts to your migraine and sleep patterns.
See if you spot any correlations. If you notice you get bad sleep or more frequent migraine attacks after caffeine, consider lowering your consumption.
6. Practice methods that can help you fall asleep — or fall back asleep
Sometimes you feel more than ready for a good night’s sleep, only to lie down and find yourself awake for hours. Or, after finally falling asleep, you wake up a couple of hours later and find it impossible to drift off again. These sleep disturbances are even more common after daylight savings, when an hour’s difference might throw off your sleep patterns.
Unfortunately, abrupt changes in sleeping patterns can trigger migraine attacks. So, practicing ways to help you drift off to sleep becomes very important for people with migraine. If you’re concerned about migraine-preventing sleep, consider new relaxation methods.
Recently we shared some migraine relaxation techniques that can also be used for sleep, such as progressive muscle relaxation and breathing exercises.
Sometimes, we lie awake because of excessive worries about our current situations. Instead of ruminating, imagine your favorite place mentally. Whether it’s a calm beach with crystal blue water or your peaceful back patio, envision yourself in this safe place. Try picturing the nearby sounds, smells and feelings that would occur while you’re there. Let this visualization relax you, and it might take your mind off migraine pain or insomnia.
Try listening to comforting stories or meditations. If you have a favorite book that relaxes you or know of an effective meditation, keep that readily accessible. Find an audiobook, plug in your headphones and get lost in the words. Another way to fall asleep is to distract yourself with a puzzle. Try something like counting backward by sevens, or visualizing a favorite movie, scene by scene. Too often, we get so caught up in not being able to fall asleep that we let this stress keep us awake. If you focus on a mental puzzle instead, you distract yourself from these thoughts and induce sleep.
7. Pay close attention to light levels
As the CDC explains, being exposed to bright light two hours before bedtime could be one of the reasons you can’t sleep due to migraine. It will shift your sleep cycle later, so you fall asleep later in the evening and wake up later in the morning. Being exposed to bright morning light does the opposite: it adjusts your sleep cycle earlier, so you fall asleep sooner.
If you have a hard time falling asleep at night, dim the lights in your house in the evening, or wear dark sunglasses inside. It’s especially important to avoid the blue light emitted from phones and screens.
8. Experiment with migraine treatments
Migraine is different for everyone. Trying different treatments can help pinpoint an option that works for you. Consider these options to help with various symptoms:
- Practice headache hygiene: Good headache hygiene means sticking to healthy, predictable routines for eating, drinking, exercise and sleep, including going to bed at the same time every night.
- Try non-pharmacological migraine treatments: If medication affects your sleep cycle, consider a clinically proven alternative to medication: the CEFALY device. It produces a mild sedative effect in many users, helping them fall asleep. When the 20-minute PREVENT mode is used daily, it gradually desensitizes the trigeminal nerve to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks.
- Cut out caffeine and alcohol: Not only are both substances known migraine triggers, but they can disrupt sleep as well. Drinking three or more caffeinated beverages per day may increase the chances of experiencing migraine.
9. Talk to your healthcare provider about chronic sleep problems
Poor sleep may be caused by a physical condition you’re unaware of, such as sleep apnea or bruxism (grinding your teeth). Ask your healthcare provider to screen you for these conditions if you think they might be disrupting your sleep.
Insomnia also may be caused by migraine attacks. The early morning is a peak time for migraine because pain medications tend to wear off then. If you wake up with migraine, ask your healthcare provider about options, including drug-free migraine acute and preventative treatments, to reduce your pain and get a restorative night’s sleep. Healthcare providers can help inform you on how to sleep with migraine
10. Incorporate gentle exercise
Light exercise for 10 minutes daily in the morning has been shown to improve sleep quality and promote relaxation. It can also release chemicals that block pain signals to the brain, which can relieve migraine. Gentle stretching, yoga or a leisurely walk can help release tension in your body and calm a busy mind. Physical activity also increases melatonin production — a hormone that regulates sleep/wake cycles.
Avoid vigorous workouts close to bedtime. High-intensity exercise for more than 90 minutes in the evening is associated with difficulty sleeping. Aim for early mornings — if your schedule allows it, your activities should end at least an hour before bed. Consider incorporating breathing exercises or restorative yoga that target relaxation into your routine. These options can be beneficial for managing migraine.
11. Limit screen time before bed
Excessive screen time and blue light can interfere with your body’s sleep-wake cycle. Disconnect from your screens at least an hour before bedtime. Replace it with calming activities like reading, journaling or relaxation techniques. Create a screen-free zone in your bedroom to tell your body it’s time to wind down.
12. Stay hydrated
Dehydration is a significant migraine trigger for many. Make it a habit to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Aim for around 2.7 liters of water daily, depending on your activity level, climate and diet. Be mindful of your water intake in the hours before bedtime, though, or frequent trips to the bathroom will impact your sleep quality.
Why do migraine attacks wake me up in the early morning?
Do you often wake up with migraine pain? The reasons why can be complex. If you take medication at night, it may wear off overnight, causing migraine pain in the morning. Caffeine withdrawal, too, may be the culprit. Other possible causes can be dropping endorphin levels, dehydration and — you guessed it — sleep disturbances.
To identify the reasons for your morning migraine attacks, keep logs of your daily routines: food, drink, medication intake and sleep times. See if there’s a strong association between any of these factors and the incidence of morning attacks.
Can you sleep off migraine?
For many, sleep can be beneficial to provide relief from migraine pain. Although it’s important for those with migraine to stick to a regular sleep schedule, a brief nap can offer some relief.
Learn more about CEFALY!
Sleeping with migraine requires an approach that prioritizes your long-term health and wellness. CEFALY is a clinically proven option for drug-free, long-term migraine prevention. As the #1 FDA-cleared wearable device for migraine, CEFALY lets you take control of your migraine treatments.
CEFALY has worked for many people with migraine — 63% of users in one study said their pain decreased by half or more after one hour of ACUTE treatment. Instead of leaving migraine pain to chance, try CEFALY for 90 days, risk free. Take a proactive approach to managing migraine today!
