When You Cannot Sleep Due to Anxiety

The stabilization of the spirit described in Donguibogam corresponds in modern science to balanced brain function and autonomic nervous system balance. Struggling with nighttime anxiety and sleeplessness stems from disrupted neurological and endocrine interactions within the brain. Anxiety is closely tied to hyperactivation of the amygdala, located deep within the brain. The amygdala acts as an emotional alarm center that senses threats and triggers fear and anxiety responses. When daytime stressors persist, the amygdala becomes overactive, stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and locking the body into a fight-or-flight state. The heart beats faster, muscles tense, and the mind remains in heightened arousal. When this state extends into the night, the body loses the balance of hormones and neurotransmitters needed for sleep. Melatonin secretion, which initiates sleep, is suppressed, while levels of the stress hormone cortisol remain elevated. Cortisol normally helps us wake in the morning, but high nighttime levels disrupt deep sleep and lower sleep quality, leaving the brain working as actively at night as it does during the day. In addition, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulates our stress response. Chronic anxiety and stress continuously activate this axis, driving excessive cortisol release. This raises the rate of nocturnal awakening and fragments sleep by disrupting non-REM sleep and REM sleep cycles, leaving you feeling unrefreshed despite having slept. Neurotransmitter imbalances also play a key role. Reduced activity of gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that eases anxiety and encourages sleep, alongside shifts in serotonin, which regulates mood and emotional stability, can deepen anxiety and low mood. These imbalances alter brain waves so that alert beta waves dominate over relaxing alpha waves before bed, resulting in insomnia. The restlessness of the spirit described in Donguibogam aligns with modern findings of localized brain hyperactivation, neurotransmitter imbalances, autonomic nervous system disruption, and hormonal dysregulation. Rather than relying on a hypnotic agent to force sleep, addressing the root imbalances that drive anxiety and restoring calm to the mind provides a more lasting path to restorative sleep.