Insomnia Disrupts the Way Brain Deals with Emotions

A new study has shown that emotional regulation in people with insomnia is different from that of people who have no trouble sleeping. Researchers say that this change in emotional regulation may be the reason behind the higher risk of depression in people with insomnia.

"Insomnia has been consistently identified as a risk factor for depression. Alterations in the brain circuitry underlying emotion regulation may be involved in the pathway for depression, and these results suggest a mechanistic role for sleep disturbance in the development of psychiatric disorders," said Peter Franzen, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

Insomnia is a condition where a person has difficulty falling asleep or keeps waking up at night. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 10 percent of the U.S. population suffers from chronic insomnia. People suffering from insomnia have higher chances of having heart failure than those who don't have the condition.

The study included 14 people with chronic primary insomnia and 30 people with no history of sleep-related problems. Both groups were hooked on to a brain scanner during a task that tested them on their ability to control the emotions. The participants were shown negative or neutral pictures and were asked to either passively see the picture or decrease their emotional responses. Participants were asked to use cognitive reappraisal to lower emotional response toward the negative pictures.

During cognitive reappraisal, people interpret the meaning of the negative picture which in turn helps lower emotional response.

Researchers found that the activity in the amygdala was higher in people suffering from insomnia during cognitive reappraisal. The amygdala plays an important role in regulating emotion.

"Previous studies have demonstrated that successful emotion regulation using reappraisal decreases amygdala response in healthy individuals, yet we were surprised that activity was even higher during reappraisal of, versus passive viewing of, pictures with negative emotional content in this sample of individuals with primary insomnia," said Franzen in a news release.

The study is published in the journal SLEEP.

Insomnia can be treated with lifestyle changes. However, for chronic insomnia, doctors prescribe medication or cognitive behavior therapy, according to National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.