The connection between migraine and sleep disorders in kids

A new study has found that children who suffer from migraine headaches are much more likely to experience sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea and lack of sleep, than children who do not suffer from migraines. The study was presented at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

90 children who suffered from a variety of different types of headaches were examined with a polysomnogram, an instrument that examines and monitors the muscle activity, eye movements, breathing, heart rhythm, breathing, and brain of the subject. Of the children in the study, six had tension headaches, 11 had chronic daily headaches, 13 had non-specific headaches, and 60 had migraine headaches.

The researchers found that of the 90 children studied, the 60 children who suffered from migraine headaches were two times as likely as the remaining 30 to have obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep-related breathing disorders were found in 56 percent of the children suffering from migraines as opposed to 30 percent of the other children. Severe migraines were found to be associated with less overall sleep time, longer time taken to fall asleep, and shorter REM sleep cycles.

“Sleeping problems can exacerbate the problems a migraine causes on a child’s health and may hinder a child’s performance at school,” said Sanjeev Kothare, MD, senior author of the study. “Parents and doctors need to be aware of the strong likelihood of sleep disorders in children with a migraine and seek appropriate preventions and treatments.”

It was also found that three of the six children who suffered from tension headaches grind their teeth while sleeping, as opposed to 2.4 percent of the other children in the study. Sleep-related breathing disorders were also common in children who suffered from non-specific headaches and children who were overweight.

Obstructive sleep apnea, sleep-related breathing disorders, and grinding of the teeth all disrupt and lower the quality of sleep, and can lead to a variety of health problems.

Sleep Disorders

Dyssomnias

Parsomnias

"It’s been a hard day’s night
I’ve been workin´ like a dog
It’s been a hard day’s night
And I’ll be sleepin´ like a log…. "

(John Lennon and Paul McCartney)