Hope for insomniacs has come in the form of research showing that insomnia is linked to a specific neurochemical deficiency. Dr. John Winkelman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School recently presented details of a study pinpointing the chemical cause of the frequently misunderstood affliction of insomnia.
The study showed that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, is lowered by almost 30 percent in people suffering primary insomnia for six months or more. Dr. Winkelman said, “Recognition that insomnia has manifestations in the brain may increase the legitimacy of those who have insomnia.” In other words, insomniacs now have scientific evidence that their inability to sleep is not just all in their heads.
The findings suggest GABA deficiency causes a neurobiological state known as “hyperarousal,” which is manifested both while asleep and awake, and which has both a physiological and cognitive effect. While the new knowledge gives insight into the insomnia’s pathology, it offers no immediate treatment. Instead, it is a basis for beginning to find ways to cure insomnia.
Help and not just mere hope for insomniacs comes in the form of a study showing that meditation may be an effective treatment. While insomniacs have probably heard that particular bit of advice before—along with countless other recommendations—in this case science backs it up.
The principal investigator of the study, Ramadevi Gourineni, MD, also believes like Dr. Winkelman that hyperarousal is at the heart of the problem of insomnia. Gourineni, who is director of the insomnia program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, Ill., also sees hyperarousal as both a waking and sleeping problem.
Gourineni focused on meditation as a means of combating hyperarousal, specifically employing Kriya Yoga, which has previously been shown to reduce hyperarousal’s symptoms. “Results of the study show that teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime can help improve sleep at night,” he said.
Insomniacs, therefore, can take heart in the fact that the source of their sleeplessness has been identified, and that medication may be found to treat it in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, a drug-free solution may already exist in a tried-and-true traditional form of meditation that traces its roots back thousands of years.
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