Sleep and Sleep Disorders

Author: Wang Zucheng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Is it a disease? Insomnia is not a disease directly caused by bacteria or viruses. It is also not purely a symptom of organic neurological disorders. However, severe insomnia is often accompanied by a series of pathological reactions, such as mental fatigue, dizziness, headaches, memory loss, palpitations, sweating, irritability, and emotional lowliness, emotional fragility, and introverted personality. Over time, the normal rhythm of brain excitement and inhibition is disrupted, leading to functional diseases of the nervous system—such as neurasthenia—and further causing mental and physical weakness, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, a loss of confidence in life, and a direct impact on the physical and mental health of insomnia sufferers. Some people may develop psychosomatic diseases, such as essential hypertension, gastric and duodenal ulcers, bronchial asthma, and neurodermatitis. Although these diseases are adverse consequences of long-term insomnia, the mental suffering they cause patients is no less than that caused by other diseases. An insomniac who experiences symptoms of the aforementioned diseases may become even more emotionally tense, falling into a vicious cycle. In severe cases, they may be unable to work, labor, or study normally.
Sleep is an indispensable physiological need for the human body. It plays a crucial role in resting and balancing the function of the nervous system. During sleep, blood flow to different regions of the brain increases to varying degrees, and brain biochemical metabolism undergoes significant changes. The amount of oxygen absorbed by the cerebral cortex and the metabolism of glucose both decrease. This indicates that during sleep, the brain's energy consumption decreases while the supply increases, which is highly beneficial for the nutritional replenishment and charging recovery process of brain nerve cells. This process actively supports the normal functioning of brain nerve cells in the future.
However, insomnia prevents the restorative recovery needs of nerve cells from being met, which inevitably affects their continued effective functioning. If the duration is prolonged, the sensitivity of the nervous system's regulatory balance function will deteriorate, and the body may exhibit various discomfort symptoms. For example, they may feel hyper-sensitive to external stimuli, such as faint sounds, light, and vibrations, which may seem like thunder and lightning or earthquakes, and cause intense reactions. Emotions become unstable, anxiety and restlessness increase, and irritability is triggered. Reading or doing tasks becomes difficult to focus and concentrate, and even slight mental exertion or physical activity leads to fatigue, making it impossible to work for long periods.
After short-term insomnia, the subsequent neurofunctional disorders are usually mild and reversible. Generally, as long as sleep improves, these symptoms gradually subside. Regardless of how severe insomnia and its accompanying symptoms are, insomnia is generally just a manifestation of an imbalance between brain excitement and inhibition. Although insomnia is often a symptom of certain diseases, it does not reflect any organic lesions within the body, nor does it have a direct causal relationship with mental illnesses or other diseases.
Additionally, poor mood caused by insufficient sleep is also one of the symptoms of insomnia. Insomnia patients often feel tense, anxious, irritable, or depressed when it's time to go to bed, repeatedly thinking about how to get enough sleep, worrying about family issues, health problems, work ability, and so on. They often cannot find a solution and may even consider suicide. During the day, patients continue to worry about their sleep that night and are extremely concerned about their health. Due to emotional instability and irritability, their work performance declines, and they often conflict with others, leading to poor interpersonal relationships and even difficulties in adapting.
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