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Abstract
Migraine is among the most prevalent and disabling neurological disorders worldwide, and young adulthood is precisely the age when it strikes hardest. At the same time, no generation of young adults has ever slept less. This article examines the two-way
relationship between sleep deprivation and migraine in people aged roughly 18 to 35, drawing on epidemiological studies, neuroimaging findings, and clinical trials. The evidence points to a self-reinforcing cycle: insufficient and irregular sleep lowers the migraine threshold, while migraine attacks and the medications used to treat them further erode sleep. Several overlapping mechanisms appear to link the two conditions, including hypothalamic dysregulation, heightened trigeminal pain signaling, glymphatic clearance failure, and stress-axis overactivation. Notably, sleep regularity may matter as much as sleep duration.
References
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