Sleep Board Review Question: Hyperarousal in Insomnia

Rohit Budhiraja, MD

Department of Medicine, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System (SAVAHCS) and University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

Insomnia is characterized by which of the following?

1. Increased brain metabolism compared to controls only during awake.
2. Increased brain metabolism compared to controls only during sleep.
3. Increased brain metabolism during both asleep and awake compared to controls.
4. No increase in brain metabolism compared to controls.

Reference as: Budhiraja R. Sleep board review question: hyperarounsal in insomnia. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2013;7(1):38-9. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc091-13 PDF

Comments

[Samer Homsi]

The hyperarousal theory of primary insomnia suggests that the insomnia is the night time manifestation of an overall increased arousal condition. However, it is still unclear whether the hyperarousal condition is a cause or a consequence of insomnia