Thread by @KetoCounselor

If you or a loved one suffers from migraines, you are going to want to settle in for this thread going over the outcomes of a recently published study. 🧵(1/15) #migraine #neurotwitter

Migraine patients report sleep problems. But how much of that is due to pain or other factors going on with this neurological disease? (2/15)

These researchers wanted to see if the effects of a ketogenic diet could modify sleep issues in patients with migraines and to clarify whether those changes came from the ketogenic diet's effects on headache symptoms. (3/15)

So for two years (Jan 2020-Jul 2022), they consecutively enrolled 70 migraine patients who were treated with KD as a preventive therapy. (4/15)

These researchers collected a lot of data, including anthropometric measures, migraine intensity, frequency, and level of disability. (5/15)

They also looked that the participants reported sleep complaints, including problems falling asleep, staying asleep, and their perceived sleep quality. (6/15)

How did they measure these things? They used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). (7/15)

After just three months, here's what they found! ⬇️(8/15)

The participants' body mass index and free fat mass significantly improved. (9/15)

Not surprisingly, their migraines got better. For example, many reported migraines of lower intensity and frequency and that their level of disability due to migraine decreased. (10/15)

Participants reported sleeping A LOT better! They reported the following improvements. And take a look at the power of the statistical significance of these changes. Remember, .05 is considered significant. These results blew that level out of the park. (11/15)

Migraine sufferers on a Ketogenic Diet experienced these improvements in this study!
Insomnia decreased! (< 0.001)
Poor sleep quality decreased! (p < 0.001). Excessive daytime sleepiness upon follow-up was also better! (p < 0.001). (12/15)

The authors demonstrated that the Ketogenic Diet may improve sleep complaints in migraine patients. (13/15)
doi.org/10.1016/j.slee…

And as if that wasn't helpful enough, they determined that the positive effect of the Ketogenic Diet on sleep was independent of migraine improvements and anthropometric changes, such as fat loss. (14/15)

Do you think that a ketogenic diet should be offered in the neurologist's office as an option when they show up with migraines? (15/15)