Is being a night owl associated with higher migraine-related disability in patients with migraine?
By
Erkan Acar
Zeynep Özdemir
Pinar Yalinay Dikmen
May 25, 2026
Clinical Scorecard: Does a preference for nighttime activity correlate with increased migraine-related disability in individuals with migraines?
At a Glance
Category Detail
Condition Migraine Key Mechanisms Interactions between circadian rhythms, sleep-wake regulation, and pain modulation pathways. Target Population Patients with migraine aged 18-60 years. Care Setting Outpatient clinics of neurology departments.
Key Highlights
Migraine patients exhibited poorer sleep quality compared to healthy controls (PSQI: 7.28 vs. 4.37, p < 0.001). Chronic migraine patients showed the highest disability (MIDAS: 36.17 vs. 9.63, p < 0.001). No significant difference in chronotype distribution between migraine patients and controls (p = 0.48). Morning chronotypes had lower MIDAS scores compared to intermediate and evening types, though differences were non-significant (p = 0.082). Guideline-Based Recommendations
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of migraine established according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, third edition (ICHD-III). Management
Monitoring & Follow-up
Assess sleep quality and chronotype in migraine patients. Risks
Sleep disturbances are primary triggers for migraine attacks. Patient & Prescribing Data
200 patients with migraine and 110 healthy controls.
Improvement in sleep quality has been observed after treatment in migraine patients.
Clinical Best Practices
Evaluate sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Assess chronotype using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Measure migraine-related disability using the Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS). Related Resources & Content
