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Suggest Treatment For Severe Insomnia And Constant Tingling Sensation On Scalp
Question: Hello. My name is XXXXXXX and i am a 23 year old male. Im extremely worried about an issue i was dealing with. Over the past 9 months i was dealing with extreme insomnia. I try to sleep 8 hours a night, but was unable to do so. I have now resolved my insomnia by getting my sleep pattern back on track, and eliminating most of my stress. However i am very worried about another issue. I counted all the hours every night that i couldnt sleep. Some nights i would only sleep 2 hours, and others 4 hours, and some nights none at all. I kept count and i lost a total of about 480 hours of sleep in 8 months.
Even though i sleep good now, i am worried that it might have caused some mild form of brain damage. Even after sleeping 8 hours a night now, i still feel exhaused throught the day, and i have scary symptoms. If i could please tell you what symptoms i have. I have a constant tingling sensation on the back of my scalp, almost like my hair is standing up. It never goes away fully, bit sometimes its not noticeable. I dont know why, but i also keep blinking rapidly with my eyes, almost like a tick that i cant control. Also i cannot find vocabulary easily anymore, and i stutter sometimes when i talk. Also later in the evening, my eyes start to burn like they are tired, and it helps if i close my eyes
I have trouble finding the words i want to use. Very often i have tremors in my hands, but not all the time. I also have issues with my memory as well, and i am very forgetfull. Also here is something very strange. When i get tired, later in the night around mighnight, one of my eyes becomes lazy. Like for example, one eye will be less open than the other towards the late night. This doesnt happen every night though. My vision has changed as well. I dont see as clearly as i used to, and my vision is more blurry. I do notice that it gets better if i sleep better though. I also have dark bags under my eyes that never go away. Given the symptoms that i have, do you think i might have caused some mild brain damage or lost alot of brain cells? Do you think i can recover? Do i need to sleep all the lost hours to feel rested again?
Even though i sleep good now, i am worried that it might have caused some mild form of brain damage. Even after sleeping 8 hours a night now, i still feel exhaused throught the day, and i have scary symptoms. If i could please tell you what symptoms i have. I have a constant tingling sensation on the back of my scalp, almost like my hair is standing up. It never goes away fully, bit sometimes its not noticeable. I dont know why, but i also keep blinking rapidly with my eyes, almost like a tick that i cant control. Also i cannot find vocabulary easily anymore, and i stutter sometimes when i talk. Also later in the evening, my eyes start to burn like they are tired, and it helps if i close my eyes
I have trouble finding the words i want to use. Very often i have tremors in my hands, but not all the time. I also have issues with my memory as well, and i am very forgetfull. Also here is something very strange. When i get tired, later in the night around mighnight, one of my eyes becomes lazy. Like for example, one eye will be less open than the other towards the late night. This doesnt happen every night though. My vision has changed as well. I dont see as clearly as i used to, and my vision is more blurry. I do notice that it gets better if i sleep better though. I also have dark bags under my eyes that never go away. Given the symptoms that i have, do you think i might have caused some mild brain damage or lost alot of brain cells? Do you think i can recover? Do i need to sleep all the lost hours to feel rested again?
Brief Answer:
Don't think insomnia is the cause.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
It is true that lack of sleep is thought to have negative effects on the brain. There are also studies on animals which indicate that there is some degree of increase in loss of brain cells. There are no studies to establish an exact correlation between amount of sleep loss and number of cells lost. I wouldn't expect there to be any time soon either, first because it is technically difficult to quantify cell loss in humans (can't dissect their brains) as well as there being many other interfering factors which could affect the brain which should be taken into account.
From a practical point of view though I don't think your symptoms are related to brain damage from lack of sleep.
First you think that 8 hours are indispensable but in an adult that is not true, our normal sleeping times diminish with age and in an adult 7 hours of sleep is considered normal as well, which would cut your figure in half.
Anyway whether it's 240 or 480 lost hours it is too little to affect brain function to such a scale as to cause all those symptoms you mention. It would take many years of insomnia to potentially develop such damage.
Just to make an example, us doctors and most of my colleagues I work with, lose as many hours from night work as you mention (actually more), for many years, we would be demented by now.
So do not worry, lack of sleep hasn't caused brain damage to the extent that you fear.
As for the question of whether you can recover those potentially few lost cells by sleeping the answer is no, you can't make new cells by recuperating sleep.
About your symptoms, I believe them to be in the setting of anxiety. Anxiety can manifest with insomnia (so insomnia is a symptom rather than a cause), tremors, sensory symptoms like scalp sensations, blurry vision etc, can affect memory as it impairs concentration and makes retaining information difficult. So it does include your symptoms.
If you want to be reassured you can schedule a visit with a neurologist to make check for other neurological signs on physical exam which might indicate any brain lesion, but from the current information (reading also some past queries of yours which do indicate health anxiety), I would consider that very unlikely. Also some routine blood tests to check for issues which could influence anxiety like thyroid dysfunction for example are recommended.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Don't think insomnia is the cause.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
It is true that lack of sleep is thought to have negative effects on the brain. There are also studies on animals which indicate that there is some degree of increase in loss of brain cells. There are no studies to establish an exact correlation between amount of sleep loss and number of cells lost. I wouldn't expect there to be any time soon either, first because it is technically difficult to quantify cell loss in humans (can't dissect their brains) as well as there being many other interfering factors which could affect the brain which should be taken into account.
From a practical point of view though I don't think your symptoms are related to brain damage from lack of sleep.
First you think that 8 hours are indispensable but in an adult that is not true, our normal sleeping times diminish with age and in an adult 7 hours of sleep is considered normal as well, which would cut your figure in half.
Anyway whether it's 240 or 480 lost hours it is too little to affect brain function to such a scale as to cause all those symptoms you mention. It would take many years of insomnia to potentially develop such damage.
Just to make an example, us doctors and most of my colleagues I work with, lose as many hours from night work as you mention (actually more), for many years, we would be demented by now.
So do not worry, lack of sleep hasn't caused brain damage to the extent that you fear.
As for the question of whether you can recover those potentially few lost cells by sleeping the answer is no, you can't make new cells by recuperating sleep.
About your symptoms, I believe them to be in the setting of anxiety. Anxiety can manifest with insomnia (so insomnia is a symptom rather than a cause), tremors, sensory symptoms like scalp sensations, blurry vision etc, can affect memory as it impairs concentration and makes retaining information difficult. So it does include your symptoms.
If you want to be reassured you can schedule a visit with a neurologist to make check for other neurological signs on physical exam which might indicate any brain lesion, but from the current information (reading also some past queries of yours which do indicate health anxiety), I would consider that very unlikely. Also some routine blood tests to check for issues which could influence anxiety like thyroid dysfunction for example are recommended.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Wow thanks so much for being straightforward and telling it like it is. Whats you opinion on sleep debt? Everywhere i turn to online, multiple doctors, scientists and universities say its a real thing. Should i make up the hours to feel fully rested? Heres some sources:
 http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/repaying-your-sleep-debt
 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-can-you-catch-up-on-sleep/
 http://www.m.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/0000/sleep-debt-hard-to-repay
 http://www XXXXXXX com/sites/daviddisalvo/2014/02/23/the-good-and-bad-news-about-your-sleep-debt/
 http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/repaying-your-sleep-debt
 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-can-you-catch-up-on-sleep/
 http://www.m.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/0000/sleep-debt-hard-to-repay
 http://www XXXXXXX com/sites/daviddisalvo/2014/02/23/the-good-and-bad-news-about-your-sleep-debt/
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your feedback.
My opinion is that you can not catch up for 8 months of reduced sleep hours. I do agree about short time debt being replaced, but not about such periods of time. Reading at those articles didn't see any evidence based conclusions just opinions (two of them from the same source). The only one which cited a study was over the effects of sleep deprivation for only 3 weeks (and only 9 people).
Also in your case where anxiety might be a possible factor (as opposed to say night work) stressing over recuperating past lost hours might be a cause for more anxiety which in turn might lead to worsening of insomnia, sort of a vicious circle.
I hope to have been of help.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for your feedback.
My opinion is that you can not catch up for 8 months of reduced sleep hours. I do agree about short time debt being replaced, but not about such periods of time. Reading at those articles didn't see any evidence based conclusions just opinions (two of them from the same source). The only one which cited a study was over the effects of sleep deprivation for only 3 weeks (and only 9 people).
Also in your case where anxiety might be a possible factor (as opposed to say night work) stressing over recuperating past lost hours might be a cause for more anxiety which in turn might lead to worsening of insomnia, sort of a vicious circle.
I hope to have been of help.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
ok, sorry for the late response, im at work. thanks again. do we know what causes the scalp sensations? is that possibly brain cells dying? (sorry im a hypochondriac) Or maybe some other reason?
Brief Answer:
No, not due to brain cells dying.
Detailed Answer:
Pardon my late response as well, time difference, it was sleeping time...I am sure you of all patients will understand :)
No scalp sensations are certainly not due too brain cells dying. There is no sensory symptom caused from brain cells dying, the brain itself is the one organ which has no sensation, no sensory receptors, doesn't feel pain or anything (if you are wondering why people have headache then it is due to the involvement of meninges, its covering layers and vascular structures not the brain matter itself). Actually of all the symptoms you described the scalp sensations are the ones I am most sure are not due to brain damage.
The reason is anxiety, symptoms like tingling in the scalp or the hands are very common with anxiety.
I hope you will feel better soon.
No, not due to brain cells dying.
Detailed Answer:
Pardon my late response as well, time difference, it was sleeping time...I am sure you of all patients will understand :)
No scalp sensations are certainly not due too brain cells dying. There is no sensory symptom caused from brain cells dying, the brain itself is the one organ which has no sensation, no sensory receptors, doesn't feel pain or anything (if you are wondering why people have headache then it is due to the involvement of meninges, its covering layers and vascular structures not the brain matter itself). Actually of all the symptoms you described the scalp sensations are the ones I am most sure are not due to brain damage.
The reason is anxiety, symptoms like tingling in the scalp or the hands are very common with anxiety.
I hope you will feel better soon.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
thanks so much my friend, you gave me the best responses by far. Your help was much appreciated
Brief Answer:
You're welcome
Detailed Answer:
Hopefully you'll feel better soon.
You're welcome
Detailed Answer:
Hopefully you'll feel better soon.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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