Adults who suffer from primary insomnia have an abnormality that prevents a neurochemical substance to shut off the mind at night, finds a recent investigationThe researchers measured levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in 16 adult men and women with insomnia and 16 men and women with normal sleep patterns.

Primary Insomnia is when people find it is difficult to sleep or stay asleep at night over a period of at least a month, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Unlike most cases of insomnia, primary insomnia is not a cause psychiatric, medical or environmental. The new study found that people who suffer from primary insomnia for more than six months have GABA levels that are 30% lower. GABA, the most common inhibitory transmitter in the brain slows the overall activity in many brain areas; the investigation was filed on June 9 at the annual meeting of Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle.

The findings suggest that primary insomnia is the result of a neurobiological state of hyperactivation, and that this state is maintained during the day and night, which affects the mind and body of individuals, according to a press release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Nearly one quarter of people with insomnia suffer from this disorder, the academy said. Understanding that primary insomnia is associated with a specific neurochemical deficiency helps validate the complaint, often misunderstood about insomnia, explained lead author of the study, Dr. John Winkelman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Harvard, in Boston.

“To recognize that insomnia has manifestations in the brain may increase the legitimacy of those who have insomnia and report substantial consequence during the daytime,” said Winkelman. “Insomnia is not just a phenomenon that is observed at night, but it also has daytime consequences related to energy, concentration and mood.”