Insomnia and the 2-Process Model of Sleep Regulation: Etiopathogenic Considerations

Article Abstract

This article summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding sleep regulatory mechanisms and describes how homeostatic and circadian principles are thought to interact to attain consolidated sleep episodes at night and consolidated episodes of wakefulness during the day. On the basis of these concepts, it is possible to distinguish 3 categories of possible causes of insomnia. These categories and ideas concerning the development of therapeutic strategies are presented, leading to the conclusion that sleep regulatory mechanisms are insufficiently explored in insomnia research.