Relationship Between Anesthesia and Insomnia

Insomnia is the inability to sleep and is getting common among the masses day by day. Anesthesia has
become a common form of drug used by the doctors to treat patients of insomnia. Anesthesia and insomnia
are thus related in a way that anesthesia is used to cure insomnia. Small doses of anesthesia render
drowsiness and relaxation to the patient and he experiences natural sleep. On the contrary, a high dose
enhances the effect of drowsiness and the person takes hardly five to ten minutes to fall asleep. There
are various factors that disturb normal sleep pattern and consequently, these factors deprive the body
of complete rest. Sleep due to doses of anesthesia creates a psychological similarity to that of natural
sleep because of which its use is getting popular among the doctors. When a person enjoys natural sleep,
the level of carbon dioxide in the arteries goes up. The same factor maintains the relationship of
anesthesia and insomnia that supports its use.

Many other attributes are shared by both anesthesia and insomnia along with natural sleep, such as the
central nervous system continues to respond to noxious stimuli that make a person aware of any pain and
irritation.  This shows that the person who has been given the dose of anesthesia does not loose his
consciousness and this is a positive aspect of the use of anesthesia. Anesthesia supports rapid eye
movement (REM) sleep as well as slow wave sleep too. The later stage is a stage of sleep in which
increased release of the growth hormone takes place. Many anesthetics have the quality of not decreasing
the oxygen consumption like GHB. One disadvantage that comes with most of the anesthetics is that they
provide sleep to the person for a short duration of up to three hours. However, the sleep is deeper and
restful, as the patient does not feel any headache on waking up. He feels fresh and well rested. Doctors
generally recommend higher doses for some people who are much troubled by insomnia.