The Researchers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience disclosed that insomnia has several faces, five to be exact. According to the finding which they published in The Lancet Psychiatry at the beginning of this year, there are five types of insomnia and this finding could serve as a starting point in promoting discoveries on mechanisms and interventions.

There are a vast number of people who suffer from insomnia. In fact, one out of ten people suffer from chronic insomnia and this sleep disorder is considered to be the second-most prevalent mental disorder. This condition has become a huge enigma as not all treatments seem to work for everybody.

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience team was guided by Drs.Tessa Blanken and they had the help of thousands of volunteers. Based on their findings, they realized why it has been so challenging to find consistent brain mechanisms and treatment effects.

Until now, insomnia has been considered as one disorder. However, based on their findings, it should be seen as five different disorders as the underlying brain mechanisms may be very different.

They came to the conclusion that there are five insomnia types, but not based on sleep complaints, as previous attempts have tried to define insomnia subtypes. Instead, Drs. Tessa Blanken and her colleagues looked beyond sleep complaints to determine the subtypes.

Hence, they evaluated dozens of questionnaires on personality traits that are known to be rooted in brain structure and function. So, the insomnia subtypes could be discovered by looking at trait profiles. Type 1 insomnia is based on several distressing traits, including neuroticism and feeling down or tense.

Types 2 and 3 have high sensitivity to reward and experience less distress, while Type 4 and 5 experienced even less distress and differed by the way their sleep responded to stressful life events. These events resulted in long-lasting and severe insomnia in type 4, while they didn’t affect the sleep of type 5 insomnia.

Nevertheless, the differences are not limited only to traits, but also in EEG response to environmental stimuli. In fact, the volunteers were evaluated again after five years and it was discovered that each of them retained their own type. This means that there is anchoring in the brain and brain research is needed to map underlying mechanisms.

Thanks to these findings, insomnia management, and treatment will be now more effective than ever before. Cognitive behavioral therapy and sleeping pills will be given based on the type of insomnia. Likewise, the finding also provides more efficient research into the prevention of depression.