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Can fixing your sleep routine really be the secret weapon in your migraine battle?
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Let me show you why consistent sleep might be one of the missing links you've been looking for.
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Migraine Heroes is a podcast for chronic migraine sufferers who've seen countless
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doctors with no results. Learn how to reduce your migraine attacks without endless medications
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or constant sacrifices. Hello, I'm Diane Ducarme. I've helped over 500 people break free from
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migraine, even after suffering for up to 60 years. My mission in life? To bring this relief
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to a million people using a unique blend of eastern medicine and western science.
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In this episode, you will learn how inconsistent sleep can sabotage your brain and trigger
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migraines, even if you think you're getting enough rest. Why your sleep-ins might be doing more harm
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than good, giving you something I call the migraine jet lag. A simple doable sleep routine you can
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start tonight to support your migraine recovery. I want to share the story of Jade. Jade is based in
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Singapore and truly just a good soul. If you've been on our website migraineheroes.com and you've
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seen her, that's the Jade I'm actually talking about. An incredible human being. Jade works on
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climate infrastructure and mission-driven investments. She's one of those people who
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quietly tries to make the world better. Now, this was back when I had no proper app, just me
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working from WhatsApp before COVID, before the Migraine Heroes app. Jade recovered from her
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migraines very fast. She was overjoyed. More time for work, more time for hobby and social life.
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About two weeks after we were done, Jade called me. Her voice was calm but curious and she said,
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Diane, there's something I need to tell you. I want to thank you and also ask you how you did it.
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She'd been wearing a smartwatch but hadn't checked her metrics in a while and what she found
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shocked her. Not only had her migraines disappeared, her deep sleep had doubled. Then she said something
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I'll never forget. I know you did this but I don't understand how. Stay with me till the end
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because you'll learn the most underestimated way to shift your brain chemistry away from pain
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without pills or fancy gadgets. Let's start with the facts. According to the International
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Classification of Headache Disorders, irregular sleep is a well-documented trigger for migraines.
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A 2020 study in neurology by Dr. Suzanne Bertich from Harvard Medical School found that even a 1.5
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hour shift, so one and a half hour shift in sleeping timing, can significantly increase
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the odds of a migraine the next day. And this isn't just about losing sleep. Even sleeping
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more than usual can be a migraine trigger if your routine is off. So what's happening in your brain?
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Inconsistent sleep disrupts your hypothalamus, the part of your brain responsible for maintaining
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circadian rhythms, your internal clock. The hypothalamus is also heavily involved in migraine
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pathophysiology including pain modulation and hormonal balance. A 2018 review published in
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the Journal of Headache and Pain detailed how disruption in circadian rhythms affects the
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trigeminovascular system, the network that transmits pain and migraines. The more your
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sleep schedule varies, the more unstable the system becomes. Next, sleep deprivation itself
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causes neuroinflammation. Research in brain behavior and immunity shows that poor sleep
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increases pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha. These inflammatory
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markers are also elevated in people during migraine attack. So whether it's inconsistent
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bedtime, wake time or total hours of sleep, your brain's pain system are getting a hit from multiple
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angles. Regularity is key. Not just enough sleep, but predictable routine and daily sleep patterns.
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Think of it this way. Your brain is like a sensitive instrument. If you keep changing the
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tuning, the whole symphony turns to noise. Now, in saying that, I want to pause and acknowledge
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something deeply important. If you are a chronic migraine sufferer, your bed often becomes your
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second desk. You're not resting. You're stuck. The pain puts you there. It's not a choice,
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it's survival. But here's what I want to gently open up for you. Sometimes the pattern can
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reverse. The more time you spend lying down, disconnected from your natural circadian rhythms,
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think gentle sunrise, movement, mealtimes, the more your body can sleep into deeper imbalance
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and that too can invite more migraines. I personally call that the migraine jet lag.
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The more you're in pain, the more you're bedridden. The less you have circadian rhythms, the less you
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have those, the more you're in pain. I'm not trying to make this sound simple or simplistic. It's not.
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But there's power in noticing what your rhythms are doing and even more power in slowly reclaiming
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them. In traditional Chinese medicine, sleep isn't just rest. It's when your liver and gallbladder
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meridians restore and regulate the flow of Qi, your body's vital energy. Irregular sleep means
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your Qi cannot complete its nightly circulation, especially the liver Qi, which governs the smooth
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flow of emotions and blood and detoxes your liver and brain. According to the Huangding Jing,
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the foundational text of Chinese medicine, the time between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. is crucial for the
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liver and gallbladder. Disruptions during this period lead to stagnant Qi, emotional stress,
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more toxicity, and therefore more migraines. You see, in the East, you pay a doctor as long as
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you're healthy. So imagine this, if you had your first migraine at age 16, you would have stopped being
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your doctor that very year until they solved it. That's how seriously we take prevention
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and rhythm. And so they know sleep is critical for your liver and your brain to detox in parallel.
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In addition to that, dampness we often talk about. Think SIBO, candida, vaginal itching,
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urinary tract infections, weather-induced migraines, eczema, skin rash, excess weight,
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foggy brain, sluggish digestion, distension of the belly area. While dampness can be more
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prevalent in people with a bit of excess weight, it can absolutely permeate in a more lean body
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structure too. Well, that dampness will obstruct your vagus nerve, go from your large intestine to
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your lung organ, both of which pertain to your lung system, and make you snore. When you fix
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the brain fog, you fix the sleep, you fix the migraine, you fix the snoring. Now, you probably
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do a lot of things to try to fix your migraines. Here's a hack to know if you are on the right
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track. When you fix a root cause, it is more than one symptom that should go away at the same time.
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I will repeat that. If you fix a root cause, it is more than one symptom that should go away at
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the same time. If you have side effects, it means you are damaging something or something else.
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So from an eastern lens, inconsistent sleep isn't just inconvenient, it's a signal that your entire
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energy system is out of sync. The solution? Realign with nature's clock. So here's a simple and doable
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sleep routine you can start tonight to support your migraine recovery. Nothing fancy, just a few
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gentle shifts that can make a big difference over time. First, around 9 p.m., begin winding down. Dim
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the lights, shut down your screens, and maybe put on something calming, soft music, or a podcast that
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doesn't overstimulate the brain. Around 9.15, have a warm cup of tea or just warm water. Let this be
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your body's signal that the day is slowing down. At 9.30, just take a few minutes to write. Nothing
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deep, just a light brain dump, or a few lines in a journal, or even a to-do list. Get your thoughts
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out of your head and onto the page. It helps your nervous system feel safe and your brain feel
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ready to rest. By 9.40, lie down and place your hand on your belly. Do a few minutes of deep breathing.
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Make your exhales longer than your inhales. This alone can shift your body towards rest. And finally,
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aim to have the lights out by 10, so that as of 11 p.m., you are ready for your gallbladder
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and your liver to detox. Now, I want to acknowledge that you might feel scared to go to bed. Many of
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you get woken up by pain and triggered by anxiety going to bed. In the Migrant Heroes app, you will
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find Nectarine. This is something you can discuss with Nectarine. Sometimes it's called the Migrant
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Heroes chat, but we're internally calling it Nectarine, so we thought we'd call it Nectarine.
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That's our chat, and she can give you detailed hacks for you specifically. And remember, every
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small step you take moves you closer to freedom. You are powerful, you are resilient,
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and you are no longer alone. Keep rising, Migrant Hero.
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Found this episode helpful? Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode with the powerful
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insights and practical tips for real migraine relief.
