WASHINGTON — People with insomnia might be getting more sleep than they realize.
Studies suggest insomniacs’ perception of wakefulness might be skewed because their brains are very active. Sleep researchers tell The Wall Street Journal that people with insomnia are more likely than normal sleepers to underestimate total sleep time by more than an hour on any given night.
Studies show two ways the brains of people with insomnia appear more active than those of normal sleepers: Sleeping insomniacs display high-frequency brain waves that typically are associated with being awake and processing information. And parts of the brain people use when being contemplative and reflective are more active in people with insomnia when they’re asleep than in normal sleepers.
Those findings may lead to alternative chronic insomnia treatments that target overactive brain regions, The Wall Street Journal reports.
A few ideas include mindfulness meditation and transcranial magnetic stimulation, which currently is used to treat depression and anxiety.
Experts recommend people get at least seven hours of sleep a night. So, study findings suggest some insomniacs might actually be getting enough sleep to be useful even if they don’t realize it.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
