Migralex Blog

Sleep and headaches

Not getting enough sleep is a very common trigger of headaches. A study in the January issue of journal Pain provides scientific evidence that lack of sleep worsens pain perception.

This thorough and very scientific study by Swiss and German doctors tested ten healthy volunteers after a full night of sleep and the second time, after they were allowed to sleep for only 4 hours. They induced pain by using a precise amount of heat directed at the top of their hands. After sleeping 4 hours the subjects perceived more pain than after a normal amount of sleep. Brain wave tests also showed increased brain response to pain after sleep deprivation.

The authors speculate that with loss of sleep the brain is less able to inhibit pain perception. This lack of inhibition of various activating brain processes is probably responsible for epileptic seizures, which sometimes can occur from severe sleep deprivation.

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