How much sleep do you need?
Hi all! I'm new here, and was hoping to find an answer to a question I couldn't find on Google..
A little background, I'm a 27 year old female, I've had migraines since I was a teenager. Sometimes with auras, but not always. I used to have really intense migraines about 5 times a month.. now I more or less always have a headache, with neck pain though it's not as intense.
Anyways.. I usually wake up with a headache.. I get about 7-8 hours a night, but don't find I wake up refreshed. However, if I don't have to wake up at a certain time and can allow myself to wake up naturally, I tend to sleep about 10 or more hours and wake up without a headache and feeling refreshed. Just wondering if it's a common theme among us migraine sufferers to need more sleep than the rest of humanity??
Hi NicJT,
Thank you for posting your question in our discussion forum! We're glad you're here!!
Sometimes when we wake with migraine pain it could be be an indication there is a sleep issue involved. There are many other sleep issues in addition to sleep apnea. I have restless leg and periodic limb movement - but no apnea - that both impact my morning migraine. I currently am taking a muscle relaxer and medical cannabis to help with this. I wonder if having a discussion about a sleep study with the doctor may be in order.
The thing is those of us with migraine seem to have an overly sensitive brain. This means our brains really, really like schedule and routine - same thing day after day so to speak. For me this includes keeping a regular sleep schedule (as best I can) and not skipping meals, along with staying hydrated.
I know I haven't directly answered your question, but hopefully others will be along shortly to share their story with you.
Nancy
I need a lot of sleep. I was kind of wondering the same thing myself. Things are better in the summer. Is it the weather, or the fact that I don't have to force myself to get up in the morning to get the kids on the bus? Even though I think I get less sleep because of the longer days, letting my body do what comes naturally might help. I also have thought maybe I have sunlight effective (?) disorder.
Hi emmalope,
Great question - thank you for reaching out to us!!
I could be a combination of both things. Sleep is very important for those of us with migraine disease. Our brains seem to be overly sensitive, and keeping a regular sleep schedule is very helpful.
Have a good evening,
NancyHello all, it's been a while since I posted this.. thought I might put out an update. I went to my G.P. about the migraines I was having with neck pain, and turns out I was having ice pick headaches, which are pretty rare but have things in common with migraines. Lucky me gets both, of course. AND it's likely I have fibromyalgia! Luckily he prescribed me amitriptyline, which has been blocking both the migraines and ice pick headaches and it's treating some of my fibromyalgia symptoms. 😀 I still naturally just sleep longer than most people.. but there's maybe something to that, in correlation with brain/pain disorders I think!
