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Ways to improve sleep

Lack of sleep is a common trigger. Is there a way you can improve sleep? Read more for advice on how a regular sleeping schedule can improve your headaches.

5 tips to improve sleep:

  1. A regular sleep schedule of 7-8 hours a night.
  2. Do not watch television, read, eat, work or listen to music in bed.
  3. Use a visualization [1] technique to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.
  4. Eat dinner 4 hours before going to bed. Limit beverages 2 hours before bedtime.
  5. Do not nap. It might be hard, but it is essential in order to re-establish night rest.

35% of 23 chronic migraine [2] sufferers (more than 15 days of migraine [3] a month) went back to an episodic frequency (less than 15 days of migraine a month) just by following these 5 tips.

No patient of the control group (who followed different instructions) reached this goal. Other useful tips:

Exercising regularly improves sleep quality and helps reduce the intensity of migraine attacks.

Some drugs can also aggravate sleep apnea [6], which causes daytime sleepiness. Also, many of these drugs can have long-term effects and slow you down during the day. Finally, the risk of addiction is high. The best solution is a behavioural remodeling of your lifestyle, supported by adequate medication and monitored by a doctor.