Sleep and migraine

Yesterday I didn't do a great deal, finding myself watching youtube vids and sleeping or trying to sleep.  This is something I've noticed, the migraine isn't totally debilitating but it is accompanied by a need to just close my eyes. It's difficult to tell whether this can be linked to prolonged use of a computer and staring at a monitor does it. However, going to bed does bring some relief. Further this kind of napping is not of the short variety but can be a few hours.  In the middle of such a doze I sometimes stir and take note of how I feel. Again all I can say is very tired and comfortable laying down dozing off, almost to the extent I could actually be getting a real overnight sleep. Perhaps during this period the brain follows the normal sleep pattern and rejuvenates all those neurotransmitters again. I wonder if it is an age thing because a afternoon nap is also not uncommon now.
 
Sleep has four distinct cycles, cycle 1. is between awake and sleep, this is light, cycle 2. the body becomes disengaged from it's surroundings, and starts to drop in temperature, noises fade from consciousness the breathing and heart rate regulates. Cycle 3 and 4 are the deepest parts of sleeping

when the total relaxation of body and brain takes place, all muscles are fully relaxed, tissue repair takes place, hormones released and the brain no longer has to concentrate on movement and coordination instead it can go on a joy ride. The metabolism drops so it is not a good time to digest food and late night meals should be avoided. Oxygen which would of been used by the rest of the body can now be fed to the brain and the brain loves it. This is where rapid eye movement (REM) takes place, usually after about 90 minutes of sleeping and dreaming. The cycle then continues round and round.  In the last stages brain waves change and theta waves are produced, it is these waves which have been sort in biofeedback techniques they simply mean you are highly relaxed but also susceptible to suggestion. It is not necessary to be asleep to produce theta waves they can occur when day dreaming or wilfully given a bit of self meditation.

Funnily I am prone to think a migraine sleep is pretty intense and deep and when the need comes over it is almost like being drugged. It is possible to stave of the effect but it's much better to go with it and take a break. The only problem is sleeping in the afternoon can affect a proper night time sleep. So perhaps the normal cycle of sleep is shorter at this stage than it would normally be. It's been said just resting your eyes and your mind in the afternoon for a short period is good for the memory. So it must be good for the brain.

When working I sometimes try and do this in my lunch break. Taking a long break and then getting a moment in a comfortable chair leaning my head into my hand and pretending to look down and read my kindle. If I can get fifteen minutes of this shut eye it's wonderful. There are usually people around me or even kids because I sit this way in a comfortable settee provided at a pub. Yet the noise of those around seems to be dampened down by my consciousness. Again this is very much a sleep related phenomenon. For a moment or two I can feel a little light headed and REM come on. But it is not a normal sleep cycle, it is like a stolen part of a sleep cycle, temporary yet very real in relaxation. After a short walk back to work I'm ready for the afternoon session. If I'm enduring a migraine then these moments are more welcome and once led me to have a much longer lunch break than intended.

Something I have learned to go with. If I feel tired I should allow a moment of tiredness to take over however I'm aware if I did this all the time then my sleep pattern would be all over the place probably sleeping twice a day and then working late at night or very early in the morning. Yet, can't help thinking there may well be something to just letting things happen and just maybe the human body isn't meant to follow a conventional 24 hour cycle, maybe it is a forced societal convention which tells everyone they must go to bed and sleep at night. Just perhaps if all the humans on the planet got looked at this a little deeper they'd find different groups of people could sleep and be awake at different times then there might be no such thing as conventional and we'd all be sleeping when we needed it and working when at our most alert.