"Insomnia disorder": an overview of current models and of the complex link with psychopathology [Il “disturbo da insonnia”: una overview sui modelli attuali e sul complesso link con i quadri psicopatologici]

Insomnia disorder is the most common sleep disorder. The new models frame insomnia as a stress-related disorder and a "24-hour" syndrome with night and day symptoms. The hyperarousal has been identified as the neurobiological mechanism underlying chronic insomnia. Since chronic insomnia is considered a risk factor for psychopathology it is possible that hyperarousal may act as a link with psychopathological conditions. Assessing and treating insomnia could therefore also have a preventive value in psychopathology.