Sleep deprivation changes brain reaction to pain in sufferers from migraine

For the first time, researchers have studied what is happening in the brains of people who have migraines when they have not slept enough.

Migraine is characterized by pulse headaches, photophobia, vomiting, nausea and increased sensitivity to the sound. The disease affects about fifteen percent of the Norwegian population, which is about the same as the global impact.

Migraine is the leading cause of disability in people between 16 and 50 years.

These are important years in one’s life when it comes to school, higher education and career. Migraines are a great weight for both the individual and the society. Many people who fight with migraine are far from work a lot. This is a very common disorder that we need to better understand so that better treatment can be provided. ”

Petter Moe Omland, physician and postdoctoral collaborator at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Migraine is still a mystery

Now he and a research team have discovered a new piece of the puzzle for the brain of migraine.

“It is well known that sleep can relieve migraine headaches. Migraine attacks can start during or after sleep, and many people with migraine say that disturbed sleep is causing attacks,” Omland says.

Patients with migraine also have reduced sleep quality, more fatigue during the day and more sleep disorders than people without headaches. In addition, insomnia is associated with an increased risk of developing migraine.

Many people who have migraines believe that they leave as painful during the attacks and have increased sensitivity to light, smell and contact between attacks.

“Now we know more about the relationship between pain and sleep,” Omland said.

The study was highlighted in HeaderA medical journal, because it has contributed valuable knowledge to understand headaches and treatment.

Sacrificed sleep

Test subjects have sacrificed a lot to help researchers find new answers. During two studies, 140 people sacrificed sleep and were studied and measured their brain nervous system.

The exams are fast and safe measurements of what is happening in the brain. In the latest publication by these studies, the topics were undergoing pain in order for NTNU researchers to learn more about the relationship between sleep and migraine.

The study participants were divided into two groups, a group that had migraine and a second group of healthy control over. The study was blind, which means that the researchers did not know who belonged to which groups.

Participants were examined twice in different days. Everything was examined after two nights of normal sleep and after two nights of reduced sleep. All participants also had to maintain a sleep calendar as well as use an electronic meter recorded.

During the actual examination, participants wore a lid with EEG electrodes. EEG electrodes were used to measure activity in the brain during two types of pain stimulation, one with laser and one with electrical stimulation.

In this way, the researchers were able to measure the activity in the brain and investigate how the brain handled pain signals after a little sleep.

Herself

“None of them were dangerous, but it was clearly uncomfortable. People with migraine are incredibly good at volunteering for testing because they want more knowledge of the disease,” Omland says.

The study shows that the brain cortex in people with migraine responds differently to pain than to others when migraine sufferers did not have enough sleep. In another recent study, researchers have shown that lack of sleep affects systems in the brain that slow down the activation of nerve cells in those who have migraines.

It may be these systems that force the brain to process pain and other sensory impressions differently in those with migraine than those who do not take these headaches.

“Mechanisms that are supposed to reduce pain do not work enough as in people who do not have migraines. The pain has not been delayed as well as healthy people,” says Omland.

Omland himself had no migraines when he started studying them, but developed them for a period.

“I had young children. I worked as a doctor and he was also a researcher, after a long period when I slept very little, I began to wake up with serious migraine attacks in the middle of the night.