Common insomnia is not a fatal disease, but there is a rare prion disease called familial fatal insomnia that affects certain ethnic groups, usually Jews or Italians. Irina Zavalko, a neurologist-somnologist at the Scientific Center for Neurology, co-author of the first European guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia, told socialbites.ca that this leads to death.
“A person’s sleep gradually disappears completely over just a few months. First, people experience insomnia, and as this condition intensifies, mental functions deteriorate, phobias and hallucinations occur, and neurodegeneration occurs. As a result, the person dies, but I repeat, this disease is extremely rare. “If a person cannot sleep but continues to work and care for themselves, or has had insomnia for more than a year, this is definitely not fatal familial insomnia,” he said.
The regular insomnia that most people experience is not that dangerous.
“The brain will find the opportunity to fall asleep despite the anxiety. Therefore, its consequences on physical health are somewhat overestimated. This is especially worth knowing for patients who are worried about their insomnia, read forums and frighten themselves with various problems,” explained the somnologist.
Read more about what happens to the brain during sleep, whether sleep mechanisms are disrupted during insomnia, whether it’s worth getting tested for insomnia, and how music and a weighted blanket can help you fall asleep – in report Zavalko “socialbites.ca”.
Previously in Russia developed An effective test to identify mental disorders.