Disturbances of Dreaming
Type: Transitory aura symptom — typically develops gradually over 5–20 minutes and resolves within 60 minutes.
What is it?
Disturbances of dreaming associated with migraine can take several forms: experiencing migraine pain within your dreams, having unusually vivid or strange dreams, having nightmares, having recurring dreams that appear before every migraine, or experiencing aura symptoms while you’re asleep and dreaming. These dream disturbances are often an early warning sign that a migraine is beginning or about to begin.
What it feels like
If you experience migraine pain during dreams, you might wake suddenly with a pounding headache, the dream itself making the onset seem abrupt and jarring. Vivid or weird dreams before a migraine are often intense and emotionally charged — they may be disturbing but not quite nightmares. Some people have recurring dreams that occur predictably before every migraine attack, serving as a reliable warning sign. The dreams themselves are vividly remembered upon waking, unlike typical forgotten dreams. These disturbances typically occur in the hours just before a migraine attack and resolve once the aura and headache begin.
D.G., The Migraine Dream, 1998. Artwork depicting the experience of migraine-related dreaming disturbances.
M.B., Migraine, 2001.
How patients describe it
“I’d say (as my opinion) that you’ve got cause and effect reversed. I don’t recall my dreams very often, but I have experienced waking up in the middle of the night with some confused and distressing nightmare, all caused by the really intense racing-around-in-circles mind that precedes my migraines.” — D.C.
“I would tend to think that it was the other way around….. that you got the bad dream because a migraine was imminent. I wake up with migraines and always wonder why I get migraines when I’m supposed to be ‘relaxed’” — J.C.
“I am dreaming a lot, and if it is a bad dream I often awake with terrible migraine. There he wrote that migraine often beginns in the awakening period. It could be that those dreams are already the symptoms of migraine, just like an aura.” — A.
Subtypes
Nightmares
Disturbing or frightening dreams that occur as the migraine is beginning. These are often vivid and disturbing but serve as a valuable early warning sign.
Vivid or weird dreams
Unusually intense, strange, or emotionally charged dreams that feel different from typical dreams in their vividness and emotional impact.
Migraine pain in dreams
Perceiving the developing migraine headache pain while still asleep, sometimes incorporated into the dream narrative itself.
Recurring dreams as aura
The same dream or dream scenario appearing predictably before migraine attacks, serving as a consistent aura symptom and warning sign.
Aura symptoms while dreaming
Experiencing typical aura symptoms (visual disturbances, numbness, weakness) while asleep and dreaming, recognizing them upon waking as migraine aura.
Related symptoms
- Other aura symptoms (visual, sensory, motor)
- Nausea
- Photophobia (light sensitivity)
- Heightened emotional sensitivity
Clinical note
Dream disturbances are a valuable early warning sign for many migraine sufferers and often precede other aura symptoms by hours. Learning to recognize your personal dream patterns can help with early migraine intervention. If nightmares become persistent outside of migraine context or cause significant distress, discuss this with your healthcare provider to rule out sleep disorders or other causes.
If this is the first time you experience these symptoms, or they feel different from previous episodes, seek medical evaluation to rule out other causes.