Insomnia: Therapy and Role of neurotransmitters

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders which affects 30-40 percent of the adult population. The present article provides a combined review on prevalence, categories of insomnia, pathophysiology, role of neurotransmitter on sleep and different types of therapies for insomnia. From this review it was estimated that hormones like melatonin, cortisol, and others produced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Disturbance of this cycle leads to insomnia. Furthermore, Neurotransmitter like GABA-Lglutamic acid, Acetylcholine, Norepinephrine, Dopamine, Serotonin, Steroids, Orexin, and Adenosine plays a major role in sleep regulation. Any alteration or disturbance in the neurotransmitter level affects sleep. It was concluded that Mechanism of action of almost all natural and synthetic derived drugs in regulation of neurotransmitters.