Sleep and headache in children and adolescents

The relationship between sleep and headache in children and adolescents is known to have significant impact in the quality of life in this population. Headaches is a common manifestation of primary sleep disorders and can be a provoking factor for poor sleep with significant impact in the quality of sleep of children and adolescents. On the other hand, sleep disturbance is a known trigger for migraine and other headache disorders and considered to be a prevalent co-morbidity among pediatric patients with headache disorders. Although it is crucial to understand the mechanism of this complex relationship and despite the growing evidence in this topic, the potential physiological mechanisms underlying this association have not been well established. Potential pathogenesis include shared neurophysiologic and anatomic pathways, role of hypothalamus and suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in circadian rhythmicity as well as serotonin and melatonin metabolism. This chapter presents the evidence for the interaction between headache and sleep, improve recognition of sleep disturbances that may occur in patients with headache and identify treatment methods that may be effective for patients with comorbid headache and sleep disturbance as well as offer practical approach for the headache specialist, primary care provider and patients and their family.