After a day full of activity, of course you need time to rest. Sleeping may be a good choice, because aside from resting the body, sleeping can also help maintain body health. Having a good sleep is known to maintain hormonal balance and the immune system. Meanwhile, poor sleep quality is often associated with health risks such as fatigue, obesity, migraine, and depression.

Regarding migraines, many studies have proven the link between migraines and poor sleep quality. Changes in sleep patterns and lack of sleep can trigger migraines. In addition, based on the results of a study published in the Neurology journal, experts found that fragmented sleep can also trigger migraines.

In their study, the researchers observed 98 participants with an average age of 35 years with a history of migraines. To find out the quality of sleep, each participant was asked to wear an actigraph, a device that can record their sleep patterns in real time. They were also asked to fill out an electronic questionnaire which had to be filled out twice a day. The questionnaire records sleep patterns, migraine, and other health habits.

The experts found that having fragmented sleep can be associated with a higher risk of migraine. To be more precise, migraines appear 2 days after a person experienced fragmented sleep. The experts further explained that fragmented sleep can be associated with low sleep efficiency. Fragmented sleep is a condition where a person has difficulty falling asleep and often wakes up at night.

Text by Anggie Triana
Stock photos from Shutterstock

Source(s):

• Bertisch, S.M., Wenyuan, L., Buettner, C., et al (2020). Nightly sleep duration, fragmentation, and quality and daily risk of migraine. Neurology, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000008740.
• Medical News Today - Fragmented sleep may trigger migraine days later (2020). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327342.php#1, 8 January 2020.