People with Insomnia have Hyperactive Brains

People with chronic insomnia have hyperactive brains, a new study found. The condition is similar to a ticking clock. 

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that certain regions in insomniacs' brains, especially those that control motor functions, were highly active and adaptable than brains of people who had no sleep problems.

Insomnia is when a person has difficulty sleeping or keeps waking up at night. According to data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about ten percent of the U.S population suffers from chronic insomnia.

The present study challenges the idea that chronic insomniacs' brains are unable to absorb new information.

"Insomnia is not a nighttime disorder," said Rachel E. Salas, an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, lead author of the study. "It's a 24-hour brain condition, like a light switch that is always on. Our research adds information about differences in the brain associated with it."

For the study, researchers focused on motor cortex- a region in brain associated with movement.

The study was based on data from 28 participants, of which 18 were chronic insomniacs. Researchers used transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS to deliver electromagnetic currents to certain brain regions of the participants.

All the participants were then fitted with electrodes on their dominant thumb and an accelerometer that measured the speed of thumb movement.

Researchers then stimulated the motor cortex using electrical pulses. The stimulation generated involuntary thumb movements. The participants were then trained to control these automatic actions and move the thumb in the opposite direction, according to a news release.

The participants again received a set of electrical simulations. Researchers expected insomniacs to perform poorly in this learning test. However, the study results showed that participants with the sleep problem had better brain plasticity than people who slept well at night.

Researchers aren't sure whether this increased brain adaptability is a result or cause of insomnia.

The study was published in the journal Sleep.