Project ARISE
Australia Research on Insomnia, Stress, and Emotions
Approximately 75% of Australian adults have experienced at least one traumatic event, and approximately 18% of Australians will develop Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition that includes distressing symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares and extreme anxiety, at some point during their life. This is a significant public health issue, as PTSD leads to the highest use of healthcare resources among psychiatric disorders, is costly, and negatively impacts the quality of life of individuals living with the disorder.
Research shows insomnia dramatically increases the risk of developing PTSD after a trauma and worsens symptoms of PTSD. However, it remains unclear why exactly this is the case. Exciting new research is currently investigating how exactly insomnia increases the risk of PTSD.
Recent evidence suggests a role of a particular stage of sleep called rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in both causing symptoms of PTSD and keeping these symptoms going. It is thought this is because of the impact of REM sleep on basic fear processes in the brain. That is, REM sleep helps facilitate the process of learning what in the environment is dangerous and what is safe. These processes are key to recovery after a trauma and evidence suggests a disruption of REM sleep might derail these processes and contribute to the development of PTSD.
If the study’s predictions are found to be correct, this would suggest insomnia should be treated pre-emptively in populations at risk for trauma exposure (e.g., emergency room and ICU hospital staff, military, police, fire fighters, paramedics), as well as assessing and treating insomnia shortly after an individual is exposed to trauma to help reduce the development of PTSD.
Further details about Project ARISE can be found here: DOI: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpad030
insomnia.org.au
Dr Alix Mellor