Physiological correlates of insomnia.

Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder that is typically comorbid with medical, psychiatric, and other sleep disorders. Yet, it is a disorder with its own course and morbidity that can persist if untreated. This chapter describes the physiological correlates of insomnia expressed during sleep and during the daytime. Together, the data from nighttime and daytime electrophysiology, event-related brain potential recording, neuroimaging studies, sympathetic nervous system, and HPA axis monitoring all suggest that insomnia is a 24 h disorder of hyperarousal.