THE CONSEQUENCES OF A WEEK OF INSOMNIA

A yoked control study used sleep recordings from 10 insomniacs to prod uce similar sleep patterns in a group of matched normal sleepers for 7 nights to determine if specific electroencephalographic (EEG) sleep p atterns were responsible for the secondary insomnia symptoms reported by the insomniacs. Specifically, it was found that insomniacs display increased tension/confusion, decreased vigor, personality disturbance, subjective overestimation of poor sleep, increased body temperature, increased 24-hour whole body metabolic rate, and increased multiple sl eep latency test (MSLT) values. Normal sleepers given the nocturnal EE G parameters of insomniacs displayed decreased tension, decreased vigo r, decreased body temperature, and decreased MSLT values. The spectrum of changes seen in the normal sleepers given an insomniac sleep patte rn was characteristic of mild partial sleep deprivation and not consis tent with symptoms found in patients with primary insomnia. It was con cluded that the secondary symptoms reported by patients with primary i nsomnia are probably not related to their poor sleep per se. Data from previous studies that varied physiological arousal were used to suppo rt the contention that the secondary symptoms of insomnia, including p oor sleep, occur secondary to central nervous system hyperarousal.