Insomniac Sleeping

Insomnia has been a real puzzle to doctors for a long time. Sleep studies don't show a significant difference in sleep duration from that of normal sleepers, despite patient reports of spending most of the night awake. New research using functional scanners has shown that the brains of insomniacs are half awake and half asleep.

Apparently, certain areas of the brain light up when you're awake, while others light up when you're asleep. Insomniacs have a mixed bag. So what seems to happen is, the sleep study brain waves look asleep, while the insomniac retains some version of consciousness and perceives themself as being awake. Certainly insomniacs tell me they are really tired from their lack of sleep, so I would expect that whatever it is the brain gets out of sleep (and we really don't know what that is yet), it doesn't get all of it when you're an insomniac.

On the other hand, I've noticed a curious difference in level of fatigue whether I stay in bed and suffer the long hours of wakefulness, or get up and do something. I'm usually much more tired by the end of the day if I follow the latter course. I guess I'm still getting at least partial rest when I'm perceiving myself as fully awake. This new information has helped me advise patients. Whereas before I might have suggested they get up and do something when their sleep suffers, now I tell them to tough it out in bed, because even insomniac sleeping is probably better than nothing at all.