Current Perspectives on the Impact of Chronic Migraine on Sleep Quality: A Literature Review

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have shown that sleep problems occur in migraineurs and poor sleep causes chronification, but the mechanisms by which chronic migraine affects sleep quality are still unknown. This review aims to analyze commonly reported sleep disturbances in chronic migraine (CM) and determine the effect of CM on sleep quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive review of all published articles on CM and sleep quality from inception to March 2022 in the literature. Clinical trials, observational studies, and case series (≥20 cases) were included. Two reviewers and a supervisor reviewed the titles and abstracts of all search results with predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. PubMed search for randomized controlled trials and open studies on CM and sleep quality reported in English between 1983 and 2022 was conducted using the keywords including chronic migraine, sleep, insomnia, sleep quality, polysomnography, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. RESULTS: A total of 535 potentially relevant articles were found. A total of 455 articles and reviews, meta-analyses published in any language other than English, with other exclusion criteria, were excluded from the review. In the remaining articles, 36 clinical studies, reviewing sleep quality and its association with migraine, were identified and reviewed. Evidence from this review shows that poor sleep and migraine chronicity are intertwined with other accompanying comorbidities and dysregulation of circadian rhythm that innovative treatments promise to bring relief to both poor sleep as well as migraine. CONCLUSION: Sleep disorders are common in CM and the association between migraine chronification and sleep quality is bidirectional. Comorbid conditions with accompanying frequent attacks in migraine may impair sleep quality. While the maladaptive pain process worsens sleep, poor sleep quality also negatively affects migraine pain. Sleep disturbance, which is affected by worsening migraine attacks, causes deterioration in the quality of life, loss of workforce, and economic burden.