SHUT TERSTOCK, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
BBC SCIENCE FOCUS MAGAZINE COLLECTION 83SLEEPSo while the causes of insomnia remain
unclear, the condition can be treated and
a lt houg h CBT is ef fec t ive, access to t he t reat ment
could be improved if it was made available
on home computers. This approach to CBT
treatments has been shown to effectively treat
depression, but getting patients to start and
then stick to the treatments can be difficult.
The ENACT project looked at improving how
pat ient s i nterac t w it h suc h t reat ment s by seei ng
how people use social media websites. “The
way people engage with Facebook mirrors the
way we wa nt t hem to engage w it h computer ised
CBT treatment,” says Dr Shaun Lawson, a
computer scientist and principle investigator
on the ENACT project.
D r Lawson adds t hat people a re more w il l i ng
to disclose personal information on social-
networking sites than in real life, and that online
games use rewards and incentives to ensure that
players return to play regularly: “Embedding
treatments into websites like Facebook might
reduce the barrier of maintaining adherence
to computerised CBT.”DEEPER PROBLEMS
Insomnia often coincides with depression, but
the link is poorly understood and recent workhas led some researchers to argue that insomnia
can actually cause mental illness.
I n one st udy, P r of Mat t Wa l ker of t he Un iver sit y
of California, Berkeley, scanned the brains of
mentally healthy participants while they
viewed a series of emotion-laden and neutral
photos. Compared to those who were not sleep
deprived, people who had stayed awake for 36
hours beforehand showed greater brain activity
in the amygdala, a small brain structure that
processes emotion. The sleep-deprived group
also exhibited reduced connectivity between
neurones in the amygdala and the medial
prefrontal cortex (MPFC), which curtails the
emotional response from the amygdala to
produce an appropriate reasoned reaction.
Prof Walker and his colleagues concluded that
sleep may ‘reset’ the MPFC-amygdala circuit
to prepare for the following day’s emotional
challenges. They suggest the findings could
mean that there’s a causal link – sleep disruption
could cause mood disorder.
But t h is conclusion is h ig h ly spec u lat ive, a nd
many aren’t convinced. “There’s no evidence
what soever t hat i nsom n ia causes menta l il l ness,”
says Prof Jim Horne, director of the Sleep
Research Centre at Loughborough University.
“It may be true that insomnia and some mental
illnesses have common factors. Sleep is affected
i n people who a re depressed. So sleepi ng tablet s
may help, but they won’t get to the underlying
cause and cure the problem.”
Insomnia, it seems, remains something
of a mystery.by MOHEB
COSTANDI
(@mocost)
Moheb is a neuroscientist
and science writer.Establish a routine Adopting good
sleeping habits can help you overcome
insomnia and sleeping diff iculties. Go to
bed and wake up at around the s ame time
every day, and don’t try to force yourself
to drop off if you aren’t f eeling sleepy.Relax before bed Take a ho t bath an
hour or t wo bef ore going to bed – this will
relax you and promote both sleep onset
and prolong the duration of deep sleep,
because of the effects on body
temperature. Also, avoid exposure to
bright light in the evening, as this can
unsettle circadian rhythms.Eat and drink right Caffeine is a
stimulant that will disrupt your sleep,
so avoid drinking tea and coffee for at
least four hours before going to bed.
Eating spicy food in the evening can
disturb sleep too, although some people
find that a small snack before bedtime
helps them drift off.Keep sleep separate Your sleeping
environment is also important – wear
earplugs and use heavy curtains. And
your bed is for sleeping, so don’t use it
for other activities such as watching
TV, working or surfing the web.BEAT INSOMNIA
Top tips to get a good night ’s sleep