Poor sleep and migraine: tracking the link
Sleep and migraine have a two-way relationship: poor sleep is associated with more attacks, and attacks disrupt sleep in return. Both too little and too much sleep get reported as triggers, along with an irregular schedule. Temple can't tell you your sleep caused an attack, but a dated record can show whether, for you, rough nights and migraine days tend to line up.
Why sleep comes up so often
The American Migraine Foundation and Mayo Clinic both list changes in sleep — too little, too much, jet lag, or a shifting schedule — among common migraine triggers. The link runs in both directions, which is exactly why memory is unreliable: it's hard to tell whether a bad night triggered the attack or the attack ruined the night. That's an association worth recording, not a verdict to assume.
How to log it usefully
Keep it light enough to sustain: a rough note of how you slept — hours, and whether it was broken or off-schedule — beside each day, plus your migraine days with dates. You don't need a sleep lab; consistency over a couple of months is what turns 'I never sleep well' into a pattern you can actually see and reason about.
How Temple surfaces the pattern
Temple sits your sleep notes next to your dated migraine days, so you can see whether attacks tend to follow short nights, long lie-ins, or a disrupted routine — or whether they don't track sleep at all. The diary records the association and leaves the interpretation to you and your clinician; it doesn't predict attacks or prescribe a bedtime.
Temple logs your sleep notes beside each dated migraine day, so any link between rough nights and attacks shows up as a pattern instead of a hunch.
Common questions
- Can lack of sleep cause a migraine?
- Poor sleep is one of the most commonly reported triggers, but it's an association that varies between people and rarely acts alone. Tracking sleep alongside your migraine days is how you find out whether it matters for you specifically.
- Is too much sleep a trigger too?
- For some people, yes — oversleeping and lie-ins are reported alongside sleep deprivation as possible triggers. A dated log helps you see which direction, if any, tends to travel with your attacks.