Now you have me wondering if one of my (many) sleep problems is this acetylcholine/acetylcholinesterase interaction. I guess I have some reading to do before my visit with the sleep docs next week.
Not that I have any sleep problems, mind you. Not having slept since last Friday is not a problem, right? My friend the purple orangutan assures me that is completely normal. On the other hand, he also suggests I should go for a run right now, so clearly he is not right in the head.
I'm guessing not, since there would be far worse problems if you had defective ACh/AChesterase than not being able to sleep (not to underestimate insomnia, but basic heart functionality is rather high on the survival list). Even if it was a more localized phenomenon, you'd be perfectly capable of stages 1-4 sleep, just not REM (and you enter REM last in a normal sleep cycle, although when you're sleep-deprived you make it up first).
But you know what is specifically a REM-stage sleep suppressant? Alcohol, even though it's also a soporific. Which possibly explains some of its use as self-medication. . .
Comments 4
Reply
Reply
Not that I have any sleep problems, mind you. Not having slept since last Friday is not a problem, right? My friend the purple orangutan assures me that is completely normal. On the other hand, he also suggests I should go for a run right now, so clearly he is not right in the head.
Reply
But you know what is specifically a REM-stage sleep suppressant? Alcohol, even though it's also a soporific. Which possibly explains some of its use as self-medication. . .
Reply
Leave a comment