Romarua, Lucy, Millie, Kate & Millie Primary Insomnia Romarua, Lucy, Millie, Kate & Millie

IDA Explanations of insomnia linked to the nature/nurture debate as it is suggested that insomnia can be caused by precipitating factors, such as stress, therefore those who suffer from the disorder may do so because of environmental factors. On the other hand, some research suggests that genetic predisposing factors are what will cause someone to suffer from this disorder. The impact of both genetic vulnerabilities and external factors have been demonstrated in studies and so overall it is assumed that primary insomnia is caused by both nature and nurture. This means that the arguments for both nature and nurture are being included, acknowledging both rather than saying its due to one and not the other, meaning that treatment can be thought that are both biological to treat predisposing factors, but also perpetuating factors can be tackled

Research Evidence * Nofzinger et al (2004)- found that the transition from being awake to being asleep is usually associated with a decrease in activity in the brain stem, thalamus and prefrontal cortex. Using PET scan, Nofzinger et al showed that insomniacs experienced a smaller decline in such activity when going to sleep. In fact, they found elevated level of activity in the brain of insomniacs. * Smith et al (2002)- patients with insomnia were studied, as well as a control group of normal sleepers and they were studied using a test called a polysomnography for 3 nights with whole brain scans conducted on the third night. Patients with insomnia showed consistent and significant decreases in blood flow compared to normal sleepers in the frontal medial, occipital and parietal cortices. Both of these studies provide support for the predisposing factors associated with primary insomnia

* Bastien et al (2004)- found that 60% of patients with insomnia could identify a trigger for their sleep disturbance, and these tended to be around family, work/school and health. This shows that change in environmental factors such as family and work stress can cause insomnia, supports the idea of precipitating factors. However, 40% of patients didn’t identify a precipitating factor.  

Insomnia is explained by biological, environmental and psychological factors because of the large number of factors insomnia could be linked to, it makes it difficult to conduct meaningful, reliable research because research tends to find only small effects. This means research is unlikely to provide one clear explanation/solution for insomnia.