Association of Delayed Sleep Onset With Increased Migraine Frequency: A Cross-Sectional Clinical Study

Abstract

Migraine is a recurrent neurological disorder that can substantially affect daily functioning and is frequently accompanied by disturbances in sleep. Growing evidence suggests that sleep and migraine are closely interconnected; however, the contribution of specific sleep characteristics, particularly difficulty initiating sleep, to migraine frequency requires further clarification. This study investigated the relationship between sleep characteristics and migraine frequency, with particular emphasis on sleep-onset latency, while also examining relevant demographic, clinical, and migraine precipitating factors. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 55 patients with migraine, classified into ≤3-days and >3-days migraine-frequency groups. Information on demographic and clinical characteristics, sleep patterns, and migraine precipitating factors was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, correlation analysis, and multivariable logistic regression. Participants with higher migraine frequency demonstrated significantly longer sleep-onset latency. Prolonged sleep-onset latency was significantly associated with higher migraine frequency and remained independently associated after adjustment for age and sex. A significant positive correlation was also observed between sleep-onset latency and migraine-frequency category. Conversely, total sleep duration, habitual bedtime and wake-up time, daytime tiredness, history of insomnia, afternoon napping, demographic and clinical characteristics, and migraine precipitating factors were not significantly associated with migraine frequency. The findings identify prolonged sleep-onset latency as the principal sleep-related characteristic associated with higher migraine frequency. Routine assessment of difficulty initiating sleep may therefore complement the clinical evaluation of patients with migraine. Prospective studies are needed to determine the temporal and causal nature of this association and its potential therapeutic relevance.