Brain differences in patients with insomnia
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Insomnia is a common sleep disorder, affecting roughly 30% of adults across the globe. The disorder can be caused by a number of different factors, including genetics, health problems and medications, stress, or poor sleep habits. Chronic insomnia can increase your risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It can also contribute to workplace accidents and lower overall quality of life.
Despite its prevalence and impact, there is still a great deal that we do not know about insomnia. Scientists have recently discovered that patients with insomnia may have structural differences in their brains compared to those without insomnia. According to a study published in NeuroImage: Clinical, people with chronic insomnia have decreased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
The ACC is one of the main regions of the brain responsible for processing emotions. Decreased gray matter volume means that this region functions differently in people who suffer from insomnia than it does in healthy sleepers.
This discovery is important because it sheds light on why people with insomnia experience more anxiety than healthy control subjects when they try to fall asleep. It also helps us better understand how brain function differs between those with and without insomnia, which may help scientists create new treatment options for this widespread sleep disorder.
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