While migraine and tension headaches are not associated with insomnia, the severity of insomnia is linked with the frequency and severity of these headaches, according to a study published in Sleep Medicine.
In this cross-sectional study, researchers analyzed 440 students. The population of interest consisted of 51.4% men who were a median age of 21 years. Overall, 22.6% had insomnia, 63.1% had migraine, 36.2% had tension-type headache, 47.9% suffered from anxiety, and 25.7% suffered from depression. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess characteristics of the headaches, including their frequencies in the last 3 months, the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6), the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, and the Insomnia Severity Index.
The results showed that the severe impact of headache (odds ratio [OR] = 3.9; P = 0.003), and anxiety (OR = 3.6; P = 0.003) were associated with insomnia. The researchers noted that the severity of insomnia was positively and significantly correlated with the impact and frequency of headache, and with having anxiety.
“The diagnoses of migraine and tension-type headache are not associated with the presence of insomnia. The severity of insomnia is associated with the impact and the frequency of the headaches,” the researchers concluded.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34798440/
Keywords: Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Migraine disorders, Students, Tension-type headache
