Treating Insomnia with Cold

According to the conclusions of a new scientific investigation, it would appear that it is possible to treat insomnia naturally and effectively by simply using cold. Patients with primary insomnia can get a good night's sleep if they simply wear a cap that cools the brain when they go to bed.

The finding was presented yesterday, June 13, at the 25th anniversary meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC (APSS), which was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The meeting was entitled SLEEP 2011.

Researchers in charge of the new study say that the process they are proposing is called cerebral hypothermia. What it does is it reduces the metabolic rates of the frontal cortex from the outside.

In past studies, experts have found that people who can sleep normally tend to display a reduced level of metabolic activity in this region of the brain. This leads to what experts call restorative sleep.

But insomnia patients tend to display higher-than-normal levels of metabolic activity in the frontal cortex. By using the cooling cap, the metabolic rates are artificially dropped to the correct levels.

“The most significant finding from this study is that we can have a beneficial impact on the sleep of insomnia patients via a safe, non-pharmaceutical mechanism that can be made widely available for home use by insomnia sufferers,” explained Dr. Eric Nofzinger.

“The finding of a linear dose response effect of the treatment implies a direct beneficial impact on the neurobiology of insomnia that can improve the sleep of insomnia patients,” the expert adds.

“We believe this has far-ranging implications for how insomnia can be managed in the future,” says Nofzinger, who was the principal investigator of the new study, and also its lead author.

The expert holds an appointment as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and is also the director of the Sleep Neuroimaging Research Program, Science Blog reports.

“The primary medical treatment for insomnia has long been the prescription of hypnotics, or sleeping pills, yet only about 25 percent of patients using these treatments are satisfied, citing concerns regarding side effects and the possibility of dependence on a pill to help them sleep at night,” he says.

“There exists a large gap between what patients with insomnia are looking for to help them and what is currently available,” Nofzinger adds.

He explains that many people with insomnia are looking for alternative methods of getting rid of their condition, and finally getting a good night's sleep. For these individuals, the cooling caps may be just the right thing, the expert concludes.