Poor sleep, skipping meals, or abruptly changing your daily routine not only disrupt your daily routine, but can also become a powerful trigger migraine. This is suggested by new scientific findings that connect the two intermittent fasting as the Sleep disorder with a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of these headaches.
A recent review by Patrick T. Ebbert and Lauren R. Natbony warns that this practice may be deteriorating, despite the rise of intermittent fasting and other calorie-restriction strategies as tools to improve health Migraine symptoms short term.
Four studies published between 2021 and 2025 agree that abrupt changes in metabolism and circadian rhythms destabilize the nervous system and promote the occurrence of more severe crises.
The authors also point out that there are currently no clinical studies that directly evaluate fasting Migraine treatment. In contrast, the evidence is more consistent regarding the effects of the ketogenic diet, which in various studies has managed to reduce the number of days with migraines and inflammatory markers, recording improvements in scales such as MIDAS and HIT-6.
Risk factors are not limited to fasting. A recent study by American researchers, published as a preprint in 2025, analyzed data from 38.8 million people with different forms of employment. The result was clear: those who work irregular night shifts earn 61% more Likelihood of suffering from migraines.
This pattern did not occur in tension-type headaches, suggesting a specific association between migraines and muscle misalignments. circadian rhythms. Based on these data, the researchers even propose to recognize a new clinical subgroup: migraine disorders associated with shift work, characterized by attacks triggered by extreme irregularities in sleep patterns.
The study also highlights that migraines have a defined daily rhythm and that pain sensitivity varies throughout the day. Changes in these cycles can increase cortical excitability and alter the body’s inflammatory response, favoring the occurrence of crises.
Although the studies analyze different situations, they all agree: migraines are caused by the loss of regularity in eating and resting times. Ebbert and Natbony’s review highlights that there is increasing evidence that ketosis may reduce the frequency and disability associated with migraines, particularly through its effects on inflammation and neuronal excitability. However, when the body is faced with poorly compensated fasting, lack of sleep, or sudden changes in schedule, this balance is thrown out of whack.
In this sense, the problem seems to be not only fasting itself, but also the context in which it is carried out: how, when and with what level of medical control.
Although the evidence is constantly evolving, studies agree on a number of basic guidelines for migraine sufferers:
Before starting fasting or drastically changing their daily habits, doctors should give their patients comprehensive advice. At the moment, all indications are that regularity remains one of the most effective ways to control pain, which affects more than a billion people in the world.
About The Author
