P148: Serotonergic Activity Promotes Sleep: Anxiety Disorders and Insomnia

Sleep disturbance, known as insomnia, is a common symptom of many mental illnesses. Insomnia is one of the most prevalent sleep disorders characterized by sleep difficulty that affects our life and work safety. Several lines of evidence support the primary insomnia as a risk factor/predictor for depression and anxiety disturbances. Anxiety disorders and insomnia are common, debilitating and highly comorbid. The findings indicated that reductions in the central serotonin activity might be involved in sleep-related disorders. It has been suggested that serotonin which is released into diencephalon and cerebrum might play a critical inhibitory role to help promote sleep. It has been known that stimulation of serotonergic activity promotes sleep. Anxiety disorder is strongly associated with sleep disturbances. In the current study the role of serotonin in sleep quality has been reviewed in order to treat anxiety. Altogether, this review considers the increasing activity of brain serotonergic system may be helpful for treating anxiety disorders and serotonergic strategies are usually recommended.