Insomniacs' brains lose focus, scans suggest

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23897665


Brain scans of people who say they have insomnia have shown differences in brain function compared with people who get a full night's sleep.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, said the poor sleepers struggled to focus part of their brain in memory tests.

Other experts said that the brain's wiring may actually be affecting perceptions of sleep quality.

The findings were published in the journal Sleep.

[SheilaT]

1. Makes sense to me.

Every so often I'll have a bout of insomnia, meaning I simply can't fall asleep that night. The next day I'm not very good for anything.

And I do not suffer from chronic insomnia. Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I've had anything other than a night where I simply have trouble falling asleep.

I do recall, many years ago, reading about some study of people who claimed to be insomniacs. What I recall best was someone who claimed he hadn't slept at all in many years. So they got him into a sleep lab, wired him up, and he promptly fell asleep. The next morning, upon waking, he sat up and said, "See! I told you! I never sleep at all!"