It’s one o’clock in the morning and you’re exhausted. The alarm will herald a new day in fewer than five hours and you’re staring into the dark room (maybe listening to your spouse sleeping soundly). You can’t fall sleep. You’ve done everything you’re supposed to do in order to enter dreamland easily, such as relax before bedtime, cast away negative thoughts, and avoid work, caffeine, and stimulating activities like being on the computer. But now you’re at your wit’s end trying to figure out the problem. Why can’t I fall asleep?
Well, insomnia just got a brighter light shined on it.
A new study in the journal Sleep reports that some people have abnormal brain activities that keep them hyperalert. The specific culprit is a neurochemical called GABA (for you science geeks, that’s short for gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is reduced by nearly 30 percent in people who have been suffering from insomnia for more than six months.
Mind you, we’re talking about primary insomnia, which, as opposed to secondary, means that you’re having sleep problems that are not directly associated with any other health condition or problem such as asthma, depression, arthritis, pain, alcohol use, etc. Of the 10 percent of adults who suffer from insomnia, 25 percent of those are considered to have the “primary” variety.
Because this kind of insomnia is also a risk factor for mood and anxiety disorders, the study also raises the possibility that sleep habits could be a factor in people with these health issues and who have GABA deficiencies. It doesn’t take a genius to link sleep habits to problems with chronic blue moods and feelings of intense anxiety. The current craziness going on between Wall Street and Main Street has me wondering how many more people are walking around with low GABA activity, and low quality sleep.
So where’s the good news in all this? Insomnia may have real physiological reasons behind it, and because many of the hypnotic medications that are most effective in treating insomnia do, in fact, increase activity in the brain at the GABA neurons, there’s hope for people who fall into this category.
If you’re one of them, it still helps to follow the usual recommendations for getting a good night’s rest. But when you have tried everything, this gives you one more thing to consider. It could be all in your head—literally.
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Have you tried MonaVie? I’m sure you have heard of the acai berry. I have been using it regularly for 5 months and have been amazed with how great I feel. After 2 months I needed 1 hour less sleep every night due to better and deeper sleep. The more I look into this product the more I am impressed. What are your thoughts on it?
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Have the researchers looked into causes of the GABA inhibition? Certain pesticides will do this. One is Fipronil. It’s a favorite of pest control companies because it has no smell, so they can tout it as “nontoxic” which of course it is not. It’s also the main ingredient in Frontline, a flea treatment used on dogs and cats.
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my
first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I
will keep visiting this blog very often.
Ruth
http://www.infrared-sauna-spot.info
I am having a hard time sleeping at night. I know it is insomina. How do I go about curing it
I have pretty much the same question as Cyndi above… How to prevent GABA levels from going down in the first place. I didn’t know certain extermination supplies could do that, and if it’s simply a chemical interaction with environmental factors, it would be worth knowing what those factors are.
What is the relationship between sleep apnea and asthmas. It seems like one of the conditions are secondary to the other. Does one cause the other.
What is the relationship between sleep apnea and asthmas. It seems like one of the conditions are secondary to the other. Does one cause the other.
What is the relationship between sleep apnea and asthmas. It seems like one of the conditions are secondary to the other. Does one cause the other.
What is the relationship between sleep apnea and asthmas. It seems like one of the conditions are secondary to the other. Does one cause the other.
What is the relationship between sleep apnea and asthmas. It seems like one of the conditions are secondary to the other. Does one cause the other.
I read your whole article and I loved your article. Yoga today is very important in people’s life. It keeps people healthy. Yoga and Meditation are effective in the treatment of insomnia. And I have some good yoga tips at http://www.jiyohealthy.com/category/stress/ which will help u.