Sleep Disorders Among People With Migraine

Typically, headaches caused by sleep apnea are called morning headaches. They are present on awakening and tend to improve over a few hours. They can look like tension headaches or migraines. In one study, 20% of people diagnosed with sleep apnea had morning headaches. According to the American Migraine Foundation, people living with this condition are between two to eight times more likely to experience sleep disorders.

A study published in the US National Library of Medicine’s National Institutes of Health showed that insufficient sleep, disturbed sleep, oversleeping and inconsistent sleep cycles, are often reported as triggers for a migraine attack. 

Of 12,810 eligible respondents with migraine and data on sleep, 91.3% with episodic migraine (who have <15 headache days/month) and 8.7% with chronic migraine (who have  ≥15 headache days/month), 37.0% were at “high risk” for sleep apnea. Among respondents to the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Measures, persons with chronic migraine were more likely to report poor sleep quality than those with episodic migraine.

Morning headache sufferers can then prevent morning migraines by correcting their sleep apnea to achieve quality sleep. Though there are a number of lifestyle changes that can help, like losing weight, avoiding alcohol or quitting smoking, there is one proven methodology to correct the physiology associated with sleep apnea.

Airway and Sleep Group use Rapid maxillary expansion, or the DOME,  Distraction Osteogenesis Maxillary Expansion technique which changes the shape of your mouth by widening a high-arch palate with associated nasal obstruction to improve the symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. DOME and Rapid maxillary expansionhave been proven to improve quality of sleep for obstructive sleep apnea sufferers by enhancing the airway.

Make the choice to wake up feeling rested and refreshed without a morning headache and learn more by visiting www.airwayandsleepgroup.com.