THE TIRED BRAIN ON FIRE: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SLEEP DEPRIVATION, MIGRAINE, AND DEPRESSION IN YOUNG ADULTS

Sleep is often the first thing young adults sacrifice when academic demands, employment, social  commitments,  digital  media,  or  irregular  schedules  become  difficult  to  balance.  Yet  sleep  is  not  simply a period of rest: it supports emotional regulation, pain processing, memory, and recovery.  This  narrative  review  examines  the  interconnected  relationship  between  insufficient  or  disturbed  sleep,  migraine,  and  depressive  symptoms  in  young  adults.  Available  evidence  suggests  that  t he  relationship is bidirectional. Poor sleep may lower the threshold for migraine attacks and is associated  with  greater  headache  burden,  while  migraine-related  pain  can  further  disturb  sleep.  Sleep  disturbance is also closely linked with depression, and experimental evidence indicates that sleep  loss can worsen emotional functioning.