Sleep psychoeducation strategies for patients with chronic migraine and sleep quality complaints

TL;DR

Teaching patients with chronic migraines about sleep improved both their sleep quality and migraine symptoms.

Contribution

Demonstrates that sleep psychoeducation can reduce migraine frequency and insomnia in chronic migraine patients.

Findings

The intervention group showed significant reductions in headache frequency and intensity.

Sleep quality scores (PSQI and ISI) improved significantly in the intervention group.

No significant changes were observed in the control group without sleep interventions.

Abstract

Chronic migraine is a prevalent and debilitating condition, frequently associated with sleep disorders, particularly insomnia.

To evaluate the impact of sleep psychoeducation measures on clinical aspects of chronic migraine patients with sleep quality complaints, under the hypothesis that such interventions would benefit both migraine symptoms and insomnia difficulties.

A total of 100 patients from our neurology service's headache outpatient clinic were screened using an author-developed questionnaire addressing sleep quality complaints. The intervention group included 68 patients with sleep disturbance complaints, who completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and subsequently received psychoeducation guidelines and individualized recommendations. The control group consisted of 32 patients without sleep disorder complaints, from whom clinical data on migraine were collected. After 2 to 3 months, the questionnaires were reapplied to the intervention group, and medical records from both groups were reviewed for comparison.

In the control group, there was no statistically significant change in headache frequency or intensity. In the intervention group, a significant reduction was observed in both parameters. Regarding sleep disturbance, the intervention group showed a significant reduction in PSQI (from 13.7 to 11.7) and ISI (from 18.5 to 13.4), but no significant variation in ESS.

Sleep psychoeducation, supported by an informative booklet, produced positive outcomes not only in sleep parameters but also in reducing the frequency and intensity of headaches in chronic migraine sufferers.

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