My World of Migraine and Insomnia

By Amanda Workman

3 min read

Migraine and insomnia can be interdependent. A migraine can cause an individual to be unable to sleep. Yet not getting enough sleep cause be a trigger for migraine for many individuals. There are medicinal options available to help with insomnia. Additionally, some sleep hygiene techniques can have positive outcomes.

My migraines and insomnia

My migraines became chronic in 2009 when I was finishing my undergrad studies. I honestly cannot remember exactly when the insomnia started but I know it was after this point.

Migraine medicine made me sleepy

Originally when I started using migraine abortive medications, they made me sleepy. I could at least take a nap after taking the medicine, which could have been beneficial. Unfortunately, that effect did not last for me. I do know people who have had migraines longer than I have been alive and migraine medicine still makes them sleep.

My insomnia

My insomnia comes in the form of difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. It took me some time to find a doctor that would take my insomnia seriously. I will always remain surprised by how many doctors are hesitant about treating insomnia.

Sleeping medicine experiences

Since I have been dealing with insomnia for so long, I have tried so many different sleep medications. Most medications are intended to help individuals either fall asleep or stay asleep. This can complicate treatment for those individuals who suffer from both issues like I do.

Prescription medications

Some of the prescription medications worked for me initially than slowly stopped working, whereas others were not effective at all. I have tried prescriptions specifically designed for insomnia such Ambien, Belsomra, and Sonata. I have also tried medications that helped treat insomnia as an off label use. There are many antidepressants that can be used to increase sleep, such as Amitriptyline and Trazadone. Medications in the benzodiazepine family, like Alprazolam, can be used to treat insomnia for a short period of time.

Melatonin

I tried the ‘normal’ dose of melatonin a few years ago and did not help me at all. Normally they suggest you start with 1 mg and move up to 5 mg. I recently had a friend give me a 12 mg dissolvable melatonin to try out. Much to my surprise, I slept better that night than I had in years, especially without a prescription sleep aid.

Bedroom tricks

There are some small things that can help improve your sleep. Sleep hygiene pertains to the behaviors and habits that help you to have a good night of sleep. Something I have noticed to have a huge effect on me being able to fall asleep is the darkness in the bedroom. The darker the bedroom, the better it is in my opinion. I actually have an all-purpose foam insulation panel cut over my windows. This helps to keep my room darker and colder.

Removing light producing technology

I also no longer have things that produce light in my room. This means no television, no alarm clock, etc. Additionally, I only get in my bed for two things, sex and sleep. I do not lay in bed to read or anything along those lines. This helps my brain correlate the bed/bedroom with sleep.

Putting my phone on Do Not Disturb

My family can be a pretty chatty group, especially in a group text message situation. On my iPhone, I am able to set ‘favorite’ contacts and place my phone on Do Not Disturb. This feature allows those who are designated as a favorite to be able to call my phone and get through to me. It also prevents random calls and text messages from making notification noises. This is helpful because my sleep is not disturbed unless it is an emergency. Personally, once I am woken up, I have an extremely hard time being able to fall back asleep.

Quality sleep impacts migraine

An individual being able to attain quality sleep can be an important factor in managing migraines. While some doctors might be hesitant to treat insomnia, it is imperative to not give up on getting care for it. My migraine specialist would not even discuss it with me. I ended up working some with my primary care and then my psychiatrist.

What helps with your sleep?

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Migraine.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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ccf23 Member
Hi Amanda, This post is a few years old and I hope you are sleeping better. I have chronic intractable migraine so trying to maintain a sleep schedule is not something I have been able to do. It seems like i sleep when i can. I have taken prescription sleep meds and they lost their effectiveness for me too. I take 5 to 10 mg of melatonin at the same time every night. Delayed release 10 mg works best but I am afraid it will stop working with ftequent use. I struggle to stay asleep, sometimes waking every hour. I have made some peace with it but also found some success with listening to a soft music playlist that I know by heart and find soothing to fall asleep to. Also a guided meditation made for migraine and headaches on the Calm app helps. They also have one for easing depression that put me to sleep recently. Wishing you restful sleep.
1. Holly Harding Moderator & Contributor
 <inline-mention username="ccf23" user-id="3691909"/> So glad that this community has been a source of support for you. That's its purpose. Your presence and sharing of your journey in turn supports others and helps us all remember that we're not alone in this. Grateful you're with us. Warmly, Holly (migraine.com team). 
2. Amanda Workman Moderator & Contributor
 Hi <inline-mention username="ccf23" user-id="3691909"/> Thank you so much for reading my article and taking the time to share your own thoughts and opinions. I love when people share on my articles. I have the same worry as you do when it comes to using both prescription and melatonin daily. Although I can say that as I made my way through trying different prescription sleep aids, when I tried one from the beginning again it worked again for a while. While sometimes I manage a couple hours of sleep, I never manage to get a good 8 plus hours of sleep. Despite the medication situation, I have definitely noticed that when I barely sleep at night, I tend to end up with worse migraine pain the next day. My head prefers for me to sleep at night, but it does not like naps. I wake up from a nap with worse head pain. If you do not mind slightly old articles, below is a link to one I wrote on fatigue and insomnia. https://migraine.com/living-migraine/the-terrible-two-fatigue-insomnia - Amanda (team member)