A disrupted sleep routine may lead to an increase in migraines, according to a study that will be presented at the American Headache Societys annual meeting.
In an effort to see how sleep patterns may affect pain, researchers kept one group of rats from experiencing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep for three nights in a row. The team then compared them to a group of rats that had slept normally.
The investigators discovered that the sleep-deprived rats had increase levels of certain proteins, which are linked to facial nerve function and chronic pain.
“In stressful situations such as sleep deprivation, these arousal proteins occur at levels that are high enough to trigger pain,” said Paul L. Durham, a pain researcher from Missouri State University. He added that “it is easy to see how several nights of sleep can make people more susceptible to developing a chronic pain state.”
The researchers concluded that the most effective way to avoid these types of migraines is by maintaining a steady sleep pattern.
Currently, approximately 23 million people in the U.S. suffer from migraine headaches, according to the American Headache Society.